The Oklahoma City Thunder (and the Seattle Supersonics before them) have 51 jersey numbers worn by the players who have suited up for the franchise since its founding at the start of the 1967-68 season. To commemorate the players who wore those numbers, Thunder Wire is covering the entire history of jersey numbers and the players who sported them since the founding of the team.
And while those Supersonics jerseys may not remain part of the franchise history should a new team be established in Seattle as was the case with the return of the Charlotte Hornets, they are part of the Thunder’s history today.
For this article, we continue with the 42nd jersey number in the series, jersey No. 45, with nine players in total having donned the jersey in the history of the franchise.
The ninth of those players who did so in the Oklahoma City Thunder era, big man alum Cole Aldrich. After ending his college career at Kansas, Aldrich was picked up with the 11th overall selection of the 2010 NBA Draft by the (then) New Orleans Hornets (now, Pelicans).
The Burnsville, Minnesota native would play the first two seasons of his pro career with OKC, however, after a draft night deal. That ended with a trade to the Houston Rockets in 2012.
During his time suiting up for the Thunder, Aldrich wore only jersey No. 45 and put up 1.7 points and 1.9 rebounds per game.
All stats and data courtesy of Basketball Reference.
This article originally appeared on OKC Thunder Wire: Thunder jersey history No. 45 – Cole Aldrich (2010-12)
