The Boston Celtics have had players suiting up in a total of 68 different jersey numbers (and have three others not part of any numerical series) since their founding at the dawn of the Basketball Association of America (BAA – the league that would become today’s NBA), worn by well over 500 players in the course of Celtics history.
To commemorate the players who wore those numbers, Celtics Wire is covering the entire history of jersey numbers and the players who sported them since the founding of the team.
John Thomas of the Boston Celtics hangs on the hoop during the first half of action against the Seattle Supersonics at the Fleet Center in Boston 09 January. AFP PHOTO/John MOTTERN (Photo by JOHN MOTTERN / AFP) (Photo credit should read JOHN MOTTERN/AFP via Getty Images)
With 25 of those jerseys now retired to honor some of the greatest Celtics to wear those jerseys, there is a lot of history to cover.
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And for today’s article, we will continue with the fourth of 14 people to wear the No. 55, Boston big man alum John Thomas. After ending his college career at Minnesota, Thomas was picked up with the 25th overall selection of the 1997 NBA Draft by the New York Knicks.
The Minneapolis, Minnesota native played the first 33 games of his pro career with Boston, however, after being dealt to the Celtics before the start of his rookie season. That ended when he was dealt to the Toronto Raptors in 1998.
During his time suiting up for the Celtics, Thomas wore only jersey No. 55 and put up 3.3 points and 2.1 rebounds per game.
All stats and data courtesy of Basketball Reference.
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This article originally appeared on Celtics Wire: Celtics jersey history No. 55 – John Thomas (1997-98)
