What number will Khaman Maluach dare to wear?

The Phoenix Suns rookie holds the last jersey number mystery.

I know I’m supposed to care only about basketball. About pick-and-rolls, defensive switches, and whatever fresh hell our salary cap has gotten itself into. But I don’t stop there. I love the Phoenix Suns, every sweaty, orange-tinted second of them, even with the bloated shooting guard depth chart that looks more like a hoarder’s stash than a roster.

But I’m just as enamored with the strange little side quests the NBA offers.

The new uniforms? Inject them into my veins. The sneakers each guy laces up? I’m watching. The jersey numbers they choose and the quiet mythology behind them? I’m in. There’s no algorithm here, no analytics to chart this fascination. Yeah, maybe that makes me a weirdo. Maybe I’m yelling at clouds. Maybe I’m just telling you to get off my lawn.

Today, we embark on a strangely compelling journey: trying to guess what number rookie Khaman Maluach will wear with the Phoenix Suns.

It’s the kind of seemingly trivial pursuit that, in the world of basketball fandom, becomes oddly profound. Because a jersey number isn’t just a digit. it’s identity, legacy, ego, homage. And for someone like Maluach, just stepping into the league, that choice is the first brushstroke on his NBA canvas.

There’s one indispensable Twitter account for this sort of thing: @EtienneCatalan. If you’re unfamiliar, it’s a running feed of numeric revelations. Every time a player declares the number he’ll wear, it’s there. Announced, visualized, archived. Whether it’s a veteran like Jaren Jackson Jr., who wore 13 for six seasons before switching to 8, or fresh-faced rookies stepping onto hardwood for the first time, Catalan captures the moment.

Whenever the NBA Draft rolls around or a fresh transaction hits the wire, I instinctively check in with a certain Twitter account, curious to see if they’ve posted which number the new player will wear. There’s something oddly satisfying about it. Maybe it’s the OCD talking, but jersey numbers fascinate me. Especially when you consider how limited the options are for a team like the Phoenix Suns.

Think about it: 5, 6, 7, 9, 13, 24, 31, 32, 33, 34, 42, and 44 are all, at least in theory, off the table.

That’s 12 numbers frozen in time, unavailable unless you get special clearance. Here’s a fun wrinkle: of all those retired numbers, only one has ever been worn again. Number 33. Alvin Adams made it iconic, but Grant Hill got the green light to bring it back during his run with the Suns from 2008 to 2012.

So yeah, I’m left wondering what number will Khaman Maluach wear? And to this point, the Suns haven’t made it official. Which, in itself, is fascinating. Why? Because he’s the last first-rounder yet to announce a number. Every other rookie has held up their jersey, posted their edits, made it known. Not Khaman.

Now, I have my theories. He was part of the Kevin Durant trade, and that deal can’t be finalized until July 6. Technically, he’s not a member of the Suns yet, so he can’t pick a number for a team he doesn’t officially play for. Makes sense.

But that little delay? That’s the fun part. It gives us a moment to wonder, to speculate, to obsess over the small things that make basketball feel oddly personal. What number will he choose? And more importantly, what story will that number end up telling?

He wore number 9 during his lone season at Duke, perhaps a nod to confidence and simplicity. But here’s the rub: Nine is technically off-limits in Phoenix. Dan Majerle is the only player in franchise history to ever wear it, and it now hangs above the court, untouchable.

Photo by Tyler Schank/NCAA Photos via Getty Images

Maybe he turns to number 6 instead, the one he wore while representing South Sudan in the Olympics this past year. But that one’s layered, too. Walter Davis made it his own, the only Sun ever to wear it. And beyond that, the entire league retired it in honor of Bill Russell. So even if the Suns hadn’t preserved it already, it’d still be out of reach.

Photo by Nicholas Muller/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images

In both cases, the numbers carry a legacy. History. Weight. Which makes the mystery even more intriguing. What do you choose when your past is off-limits and your future is still forming?

Yes, I know. It’s a topic of great discussion. And we’re diving headfirst into it right here.

Drop your guesses in the comments below. I’ll even put together a poll with some possible numbers you think Khaman Maluach might end up wearing. Based on what we know, he seems drawn to sixes and nines. But here’s a fun fact you may not know: 69 is effectively banned in the NBA. Yep. No player has ever been officially allowed to wear it, even if a few have tried.

So maybe he goes rogue. Maybe he picks a number that’s never been worn by any NBA player. Like 58, 59, 64, 74, 75, 78, 79, 80, 82, or 97. The possibilities are endless…but also, oddly finite.

So what do you think? What number does the 7’2” mystery man end up choosing when the options are both wide open and strangely limited?

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