Patrick Williams ‘gladly agreed’ to give Vučević No. 9 originally appeared on NBC Sports Chicago
Jersey numbers mean a lot to players. They’re iconic and can be tied to an individual’s identity. It’s no mistake LeBron James chose to wear No. 23 when he joined the Cavaliers, or that Jordan chose No. 45 for a brief time when he decided to continue his career in 1995. So it’s no surprise that when Nikola Vučević came to Chicago, he asked rookie Patrick Williams to give up the No. 9 jersey, as Vooch has worn No. 9 since 2012.
“Vučević has worn No. 9, it’s really important to him,” Bulls assistant equipment manager Steve Pankow said in a video posted to Twitter. “He offered to pay Patrick Williams an undisclosed amount of money for the No. 9.
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“Patrick Williams gladly agreed to do it, so the league cleared Vooch to have No. 9, and Patrick Williams is switching to No. 44.”
Neither the “undisclosed amount of money” for a jersey swap, nor the rookie giving up the number are particularly unusual either. Both are seen as a nice gesture not only in the NBA, but across many professional sports. Recently, Bears quarterback Tyler Bray gave up his No. 9 when Nick Foles came to town.
Sometimes players pick entirely new numbers when they join a team to avoid conflicts with history. That’s the route Dominik Kubalik chose when he joined the Blackhawks. He had previously worn 18 and 81 in Europe, but 18 was off the table as Denis Savard’s sweater hangs in the United Center rafters, and he didn’t want to take Marian Hossa’s 81 out of respect — so he dropped the “1” and went with No. 8.
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So far, Vučević and Williams have both played well since the jersey swap. In his two-game sample Vučević is shooting 62.1% from the field, which is a huge jump from the 48% rate he had in 44 games with Orlando this season. Meanwhile, Williams filled out the stat sheet with a 14 point, 6 rebound, 4 assist, 1 steal, 1 block night in his second game donning No. 44.
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