'Just pick a number': How Frank Kaminsky ended up with NBA's rare No. 47 with Phoenix Suns

‘Just pick a number’: How Frank Kaminsky ended up with NBA’s rare No. 47 with Phoenix Suns

Posted by Admin October 12, 2024 NBA

Explaining how Frank Kaminsky wound up with No. 47 may prove to be more challenging than making the Phoenix Suns this season.

Kaminsky is on a training camp deal along with Moses Wood and Mamadi Diakite as the Suns have a final spot left on their standard 15-man roster.

“I’m just going with it,” Kaminsky said before Friday’s preseason loss to the Detroit Pistons at Footprint Center. “Whatever happens, happens. I’m in the position I wanted to be after getting healthy and playing overseas last year. Just grateful for this opportunity. Whatever happens, happens.”

If only selecting a jersey number were that simple for him.

“Me and (longtime Suns equipment manager Jay Gaspar) went back and forth for like three days on what I should choose and at the end, I was like, ‘Just pick and number and put it on a jersey,’” Kaminsky said.

Kaminsky was looking for a single-digit number like the No. 8 he wore in his three seasons (2019-22) with the Suns, but Grayson Allen selected the number in his first year with the team last season.

Devin Booker has had No. 1 since Day 1 in Phoenix in 2015.

Bradley Beal rocks No. 3, the only number he’s worn in now his 13^th NBA season. Josh Okogie sports No. 2 and rookies Ryan Dunn and Oso Ighodaro have No. 0 and No. 4, respectively.

“All the good single-digit numbers were taken,” he said Friday.

His first NBA number, No. 44, is retired in Phoenix. The late, great Paul Westphal wore that number.

“I think the first available non-retired number was 16 or 18,” Kaminsky said.

Correct. Dunn, Booker, Okogie, Beal and Ighodaro have zero through four.

The Suns retired the jersey numbers of Dick Van Arsdale, who wore No. 5, Walter Davis, who sported No. 6 and Kevin Johnson, who donned No. 7.

Allen is wearing No. 8 and Dan Majerle’s No. 9 is retired.

Damion Lee wears No. 10, Bol Bol has No. 11 and Collin Gillespie wears No. 12.

Steve Nash’s No. 13 is retired, TyTy Washington has No. 14 and Jalen Bridges sports No. 15.

Dunn, Okogie, Beal, Ighodaro, Allen, Lee, Bol, Gillespie, Washington and Bridges all joined the Suns after Kaminsky’s final season in Phoenix in 2021-22.

Wood is wearing No. 17.

An avid football fan, Kaminsky called 16 and 18 “quarterback numbers.”

Kaminsky then looked for a number in the 40s.

“I had to think what’s my second-favorite number outside of No. 4,” Kaminsky said.

Lucky seven. He’s also 7 feet tall.

The irony is that Kaminsky would be the seventh NBA player ever to wear No. 47.

Scott Williams wore the number in two seasons (2002-04) playing center for the Suns and with the Cleveland Cavaliers in his final NBA season in 2004-05.

A.J. Bramlett also sported No. 47 in his one NBA season in 1999-2000 with the Cavs.

David Lattin and Hall of Famer Jerry Lucas donned the number with the San Francisco Warriors in the 1967-68 season and the 1969-70 season, respectively.

Andrei Kirilenko made the jersey number popular in his 10 NBA seasons (2001-11) with the Utah Jazz. He also wore the number with the Minnesota Timberwolves in 2012-13 and Brooklyn Nets in 2013-15.

It’s the only number the lanky, athletic defender ever wore in the league.

Tiago Splitter is the last player to wear No. 47, in his final NBA season in 2016-17 with the Philadelphia 76ers.

Kaminsky could join that odd list.

Phoenix must reduce its standard roster to 15 before the NBA regular season begins Oct. 22.

The Suns could keep a roster spot open for flexibility later in the season when it comes to trades or adding a player after the trade deadline.

However, Suns coach Mike Budenholzer sees the value in Kaminsky in possibly filling that final roster spot.

“There’s a player like Frank who you can maybe win games and help us in a lot of different ways,” Budenholzer said after Saturday’s practice. “He’s a veteran, smart, a lot of things we want to be about. Having Frank in camp has been great and those will be the hard decisions with (Suns CEO Josh Bartelstein and general manager James Jones) and the front office. We’ve got to sit down and put everything together and make good, hard decisions.”

Kaminsky has played in every preseason game, scoring a total of 12 points on 4-of-10 shooting (2-of-7 from 3).

“This is the best I’ve felt in a couple of years, that’s for sure,” said Kaminsky, whose right knee injury limited him to nine games with the Suns in 2021-22.

“My rehab was a couple of steps forward, two steps back. Feel good for two weeks, my knee would swell up. I’m hard-headed, I don’t take time off when that happens. It was constant frustration.”

Kaminsky last played in the NBA for the Atlanta Hawks and Houston Rockets in 2022-23 for a total of 36 games. He spent last season in Serbia, but is now back in Phoenix looking to reunite with the Suns.

A fan favorite, Kaminsky received a resounding ovation when checking into Friday’s game.

“I’ve learned you never know how long it’s going to last,” Kaminsky said. “Anything can happen. At the snap of a finger, things can be gone … . I’m just enjoying every moment.”

The Suns had an odd two-game preseason road trip that took them from Palm Springs, where they played the Los Angeles Lakers on Oct. 6, to East Lansing, Mich., for a game against the Pistons two days later at Michigan State University’s Breslin Center.

“Some people saw it as a miserable experience, but for me, that was so great to be back and be back around a lot of the same staff and people that (were) here when I was here,” Kaminsky said. “It’s been great.”

The Suns play Sunday at Denver and wrap up preseason play Oct. 17 against the Lakers at Footprint Center.

Have opinions about the current state of the Suns? Reach Suns Insider Duane Rankin at dmrankin@gannett.com or contact him at 480-810-5518. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter, at @DuaneRankin.

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