Portis, Giannis given jersey numbers with intriguing history in Miami

The Miami Heat bestowed numbers to newcomers Bobby Portis and Giannis Antetokounmpo, with their trade from the Milwaukee Bucks becoming official as of July 6.

And both numbers are notable for different reasons.

Portis will wear No. 95, which has never before been worn in Heat history. In fact, only two players in NBA history have worn the number, according to Basketball Reference, and both have Wisconsin ties.

Bobby Portis Jr. (@BPortistime) will wear No. 95 for the #Heat. Number never worn in franchise history. #NBApic.twitter.com/sFXfi5dHab

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— Etienne Catalan (@EtienneCatalan) July 6, 2026

De’Andre Bembry, who played in eight games for the Bucks in 2022, wore it with four teams, and former Marquette University player Juan Toscano-Anderson also wore it with four franchises.

Portis wore No. 9 with the Bucks and wore No. 5 with the Chicago Bulls and Washington Wizards.

Antetokounmpo, meanwhile, was given his customary No. 34, which has another interesting parallel to Milwaukee in that it’s the same number worn by Ray Allen with both franchises.

Allen, a Basketball Hall of Famer, played for the Bucks from 1996 to 2003, and his jersey naturally hasn’t been retired since it wound up hanging in Antetokounmpo’s locker. He finished his career with two seasons in Miami, coming off the bench but contributing to an NBA championship in 2013. Allen wore No. 20 in Boston, where he won his first title, when Paul Pierce already had 34.

No Heat player has worn No. 34 with the Heat since Allen retired after the 2013-14 season. In Milwaukee, two players (Reece Gaines and David Noel) wore 34 in the years between Allen and Antetokounmpo.

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Portis, Giannis given jersey numbers with intriguing history in Miami