Friday the 13th: Best Players to wear No. 13
By Mike Dyce
Today is the dreaded Friday the 13th. In honor of this holiday we are honoring the best players to ever wear the number 13 during their careers.
Wilt Chamberlain
Chamberlain is one of the greatest scorers in NBA history. During his career he averaged 30.1 points and 22.9 rebounds. That is right, 22.9 rebounds, that seems damn near impossible today. Wilt is also remembered for his famous 100 point game against the Knicks. He was a four time MVP and earned 13 All-Star honors and won 2 NBA Championships.
Dan Marino
Dan Marino is arguably one of the best players to ever play in the NFL. Despite the numerous passing records he set he never won a Super Bowl championship, the biggest void in his career. He went to 9 Pro Bowls and was an All-Pro 8 times. His career numbers are ridiculoous, 420 career touchdowns, 61,361 passing yards. He was also the first quarterback to throw for 40 touchdowns in a season as well as 5,000 yards in a season. Both his records for passing yards in a season and touchdowns in a season would be broke.
Steve Nash
Before wearing 10 with the Los Angeles Lakers Nash wore 13. The Lakers had retired 13 to honor Wilt Chamberlain. At one point in time Nash was a dominant force on the court dishing the ball and scoring, he won two consecutive MVP Awards as he led the Phoenix Suns into the playoffs and even a pair of Western Conference Finals appearance. Nash was never able to get over that hump though and is still chasing that elusive championship.
Kurt Warner
One of the biggest underdog stories of all time. Warner went from grocery clerk to Super Bowl XXXIVChampion. He wasn’t a one hit wonder, he lost two more Super Bowls and won two NFL MVP awards along the way. I mean Warner took the Arizona Cardinals to the Super Bowl, that’s how good he was. Warner at one point in time held the record for most yards passing in a Super Bowl career and owns the record for the most yards thrown in a Super Bowl. Actually he holds all 3 top spots for passing yards in a game and he is the only player to throw for over 400 yards in a Super Bowl.
Pavel Datsyuk
Dtsyuk was a key part of two Detroit Red Wings Stanley Cup Championships, in 2002 and 2008. He is a three time Selke Trophy winner,. He was also a good guy winning the Lady Byng Memorial Trophy four times, it is given to the player with the best sportsmanship and gentlemanly conduct.
Mats Sundin
Sundin was never able to win a Stanley Cup Championship as a result of playing most of his career with the Toronto Maple Leafs. He does own franchise records for goals (420), assists by a forward (567) and points (987). Sundin was also the first European born and trained player to be taken in first overall in the NHL draft.
Alex Rodriguez
A-Rod didn’t always were 13. He wore 3 throughout most of his career but when he joined the New York Yankees that number wasn’t available because it was retired for Babe Ruth. A-Rod helped lead the Yankees to a 2009 World Series Championship. A-Rod’s career was promising but it has been marred by PED use and allegations. Still he is a 14-time All-Star, 3-time MVP, and numerous other batting awards. He is also the youngest player to get to 600 home runs.
Anyone we forgot? I’m sure there are some, let us know in the comments below.