Question: Which player’s jersey number hangs in the Miami Heat’s rafters even though he never played a game for the team?
Answer: Michael Jordan.
The Heat retired No. 23 on April 11, 2003, before Jordan played his last game in Miami as a Washington Wizard. The jersey that went up was half Bulls red and half Wizards blue, and Pat Riley told the crowd at midcourt: “No one will ever wear No. 23 for the Miami Heat. You’re the best.“
It was the first number the franchise had retired in 15 seasons, and it went to a man who never pulled on a Heat uniform. Alonzo Mourning’s No. 33 followed six years later, the first retired for a player Miami actually rostered.
