Who’s Your Favorite No. 5 in Portland Trail Blazers History?

A little bit of Will Barton in my life, a little bit of Rudy Fernandez by my side — it’s the Blazers’ Mambo No. 5!

By Isaiah De los Santos@IsaiahDeLos Aug 25, 2018, 9:14am PDT

One of the many things I enjoy about the NBA is jerseys, from the designs each franchise trots out to why players wear the number that they do — I can remember this Gilbert Arenas commercial explaining why he relished the No. 0 jersey, and I know why Damian Lillard enjoys wearing No. 0 as well.

Another interesting aspect of jerseys is what players have worn that jersey previously for their franchise. With Portland Trail Blazers signee Seth Curry wearing No. 5 this season, a jersey that’s been popular in recent years and worn by cult favorites (or enemies), let’s take a look at those who wore it previously, courtesy of Basketball-Reference’s uniform number tracker.

Jim McMillian (1978-79)

Averages in jersey: 3.6 points, 1.7 rebounds, 1.4 assists

Eddie Jordan (1984)

Averages in jersey: 2.5 points, 1.0 rebounds, 3.0 assists

Jermaine O’Neal (1996-00)

Averages in jersey: 3.9 points, 3.1 rebounds, 0.7 blocks

Jeff McInnis (2002-04)

Averages in jersey: 7.9 points, 1.7 rebounds, 3.2 assists

Desmond Ferguson (2004)

Averages in jersey: 1.9 points, 0.6 rebounds, 0.1 assists

Ha Seung-Jin (2004-06)

Averages in jersey: 1.5 points, 1.5 rebounds, 0.3 blocks

Ime Udoka (2006-07)

Averages in jersey: 8.4 points, 3.7 rebounds, 1.5 assists

Rudy Fernandez (2008-11)

Averages in jersey: 9.1 points, 2.5 rebounds, 2.2 assists

Raymond Felton (2011-12)

Averages in jersey: 11.4 points, 2.5 rebounds, 6.5 assists

Will Barton (2012-15)

Averages in jersey: 3.8 points, 1.8 rebounds, 0.8 assists

Steve Blake (2015)

Averages in *jersey: 4.0 points, 1.3 rebounds, 3.1 assists
*Blake changed his jersey number from 25 to 5 after the passing of Jerome Kersey, playing 28 games in No. 5

Pat Connaughton (2015-2018)

Averages in jersey: 3.7 points, 1.6 rebounds, 0.8 assists

Rather than asking who the best No. 5 in Blazers history is (FELTON???), let me know your favorite in the comments and a moment or reason why they stick out to you. My vote goes to Will Barton for finishing off this moment.