Best NBA Players Who Wear Number 11
In the NBA, a player has the right and the option to choose their own basketball jersey number, with few exceptions. With those exceptions being if a jersey number has been retired or if a player currently on the team already plays with that number.
And with the jersey numbers ranging from 0 to 99, NBA players have 100 different jersey number options to choose from. And with the more famous numbers, such as 23, generally being chosen as an ode to the great Michael Jordan, other numbers are generally less reserved and are more available.
Below, we are going to look at the best NBA players who wear the number 11 jersey number. This list includes both current and former players, all of whom have worn the number 11 jersey number.
Trae Young
Trae Young is one of the most explosive players in the NBA right now. Playing for the Atlanta Hawks, Young was born in Lubbock, Texas and played college basketball for the Oklahoma Sooners. While in the NCAA, he became the only player to lead the league in both points and assists in a single season.
Nicknamed ‘Ice Trae’, he was drafted by the Dallas Mavericks in the 2018 NBA draft with the fifth pick overall. Later traded to the Atlanta Hawks, Young would go on to be a 2x NBA All-Star and an NBA All-Rookie First Team.
Standing in at 6’1″, and wearing the number 11 jersey, Trae Young also has sponsorship deals with both Adidas and State Farm.
Karl Malone
Playing both with the jersey numbers of 32 and 11, Malone, nicknamed “the Mailman”, was a two-time NBA Most Valuable Player, a 14-time NBA All-Star, and an 11-time member of the All-NBA First Team. And having scored 36,928 points during his time in the league, he currently ranks third in the all time scoring list.
Malone played college basketball at Louisiana Tech University. In his three seasons with Louisiana Tech, he helped the team reach its first-ever NCAA tournament in 1984 and to first place in the Southland Conference in 1985.
The Utah Jazz selected him in the first round of the 1985 NBA draft with the 13th overall pick. Malone appeared in the playoffs every season in his career, including the NBA Finals in 1997 and 1998 with the Jazz.
Honored as one of the 50 greatest players of all time by being named to the NBA 50th Anniversary Team and again to the NBA 75th Anniversary Team, Malone also played in both the Summer Olympic Games of 1992 and 1996, winning gold in both.
Kyrie Irving
A player who often faces much criticism, Irving is one of the most prolific and adept basketball players in the league. currently playing for the Brooklyn Nets, Irving would be named Rookie of the Year after being selected by the Cleveland Cavaliers with the first overall pick in the 2011 NBA Draft.
Kyrie Irving played college basketball for famed program Duke and would win the Most Valuable Player Award in the NBA in the 2014 All-Star Game. In the 2016 NBA Finals, Irving would make the championship-winning three-point field goal to complete the Cavaliers’ comeback against the Golden State Warriors.
Chris “Birdman” Andersen
Chris “Birdman” Andersen was born on July 7, 1978. Born in Long Beach, California, he grew up in Iola, Texas and played one year of college basketball at Blinn College. After college, Andersen began his professional career in the Chinese Basketball Association and the American minor leagues.
After playing in the NBA’s minor league, he became the first D-League player to be called up by an NBA Team. He would sign with the Denver Nuggets, quickly becoming one of the top per-minute rebounders and shot-blockers in the league.
Dion Waiters
Playing with both the numbers 11 and 23, Dion Waiters played in the NBA from 2012 to 2022. Having played college basketball for the Syracuse Orange, he would be selected with the fourth overall pick in the 2012 NBA draft by the Cleveland Cavaliers.
In addition to playing for the Cavaliers, he also played for the Oklahoma City Thunder, the Miami Heat, and the Los Angeles Lakers, with who he would win an NBA championship.
DeMar DeRozan
One of the most adept shooters and players currently in the league, DeMar DeRozan also most closely resembles Michael Jordan in his style of play.
Per YouTube basketball commentary by JxmyHighroller, DeRozan plays a style of basketball extremely similar and reminiscent to Jordan and, as fate would have it, currently plays for the Chicago Bulls.
Having played for the USC Trojans, he was selected ninth overall by the Toronto Raptors in the 2009 NBA draft.
He is a five-time NBA All-Star and a three-time All-NBA Team member. He spent nine seasons with the Raptors, including five playoff runs, before being traded to the Spurs in the summer of 2018 and the Bulls in 2021.
DeRozan has also played for the United States national team in both the 2014 World Cup and the 2016 Summer Olympics.