The Athletic's NBA jersey list is a prediction, not a retirement announcement

A Sept. 18 Athletic article assembled a list of active NBA players whose numbers could eventually be retired, and a post from NBACentral turned the list into a fresh round of fan arguments. The distinction matters: the article offers predictions about future franchise decisions. It does not announce a ceremony or report that any team has already committed to one.

The NBACentral post names Damian Lillard in Portland, Jayson Tatum in Boston, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander in Oklahoma City, Kawhi Leonard with the Spurs and Raptors, and Kyrie Irving in Cleveland among its selections. The full Athletic article, “Which active NBA players deserve to have their numbers retired?”, also considers Anthony Davis, Anthony Edwards, Jaylen Brown, DeMar DeRozan, Jalen Brunson, Klay Thompson, James Harden, Nikola Jokić, Joel Embiid, Jimmy Butler, Draymond Green, LeBron James, Stephen Curry, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Kevin Durant and Luka Dončić. Those are the writer's projected cases, not a league list.

The article also shows why the cases are uneven. A player can be a franchise icon, a championship figure, a longtime star or a fan favorite, and teams weigh those histories differently. Leonard's two-team case depends on separate relationships with San Antonio and Toronto. Lillard's case rests on his Portland identity even without an NBA title there. The article's framing leaves room for debate because the honor belongs to each franchise.

Recent official announcements show the line between a forecast and a decision. Toronto announced that Kyle Lowry's No. 7 will be retired after he retired as a Raptor, and Minnesota announced that Kevin Garnett's No. 21 will be retired on Feb. 28, 2027. Those announcements came from the teams and included ceremonies or dates. The NBA has also documented completed ceremonies such as Derrick Rose's No. 1 retirement in Chicago and Dell Curry's No. 30 retirement in Charlotte.

That standard keeps the NBACentral post in perspective. Tatum, Brown, Curry, Giannis and the other names may have strong cases, but no banner goes up because a media list says it should. The next confirmed retirement will come from a franchise announcement, followed by a date, venue or ceremony details that supporters can verify.

For now, the useful news is the debate itself: active players are already being judged against the rarer honor of having a number removed from circulation. The predictions make the criteria visible. The teams still make the decision.