NBA
Knicks Veteran Changes Back to College Jersey Number
Jericho Sims’ New York Knicks jersey will literally be a throwback every night this season.
Per Etienne Catalan on X, Sims is getting his collegiate digits back, as his Knicks uniform will now bear the No. 20 for year four. That’s the same number Sims wore at the University of Texas as well as Cristo Rey Jesuit High School in Minneapolis.
Over his first three seasons, Sims had worn the No. 45 with the Knicks, just the sixth player to do so. In that span, Sims averaged 4.0 rebounds and 2.6 points in 138 appearances, including 32 starts.
Sims was unable to retain his number upon his Manhattan entry in 2021, as it was worn by Kevin Knox at the time. Dylan Windler is the last listed Knicks to wear it, doing so for three appearances last season before he was waived in December. Allan Houston and Michael Ray Richardson are far and away the most famous bearers with other notable reps including Ronaldo Blackman, Jared Jeffries, and Mike Bibby.
Sims, whose contract was fully guaranteed by the Knicks earlier this month, is set to brandish the new number in what could be a fateful season for his NBA career. As it stands, he could be relied upon in the post after the Knicks struggled to make up for the loss of the Oklahoma City-bound Isaiah Hartenstein. Sims is one of three New York veterans to have been drafted by the team alongside Miles McBride and fellow center Mitchell Robinson.
While wearing the No. 20, Sims became Cristo Rey Jesuit’s all-time leading boys’ basketball scorer. Getting the number back at Texas eventually paved the way to a tournament victory at Madison Square Garden, as Sims was part of the Longhorn group that took the 2019 National Invitational Tournament title back to Austin.