Why Ayton chose No. 22
Deandre Ayton wore No. 13 in his oneand-done year at Arizona.
He wanted to start his NBA career with the Phoenix Suns wearing No. 0, but Marquese Chriss already had it.
And Chriss was willing to part ways with it – for a price.
The Republic continues its “Fun Facts” series with the Phoenix Suns with Deandre Ayton, who broke down how he ended up wearing No. 22 in the NBA. Name: Deandre Ayton; Position: C Age: 23; NBA season: 4th; Twitter: @DeandreAyton; Instagram: @deandreayton;
Fun fact: Backstory behind Ayton’s jersey number.
Q: What made you choose No. 22? DA: “I wanted No. 0, but Marquese had it when I came here. Marquese Chriss had it and he wanted me to buy it from him and I wasn’t going to buy it.”
Legend says it was in the ballpark of the $50,000 Terry Catledge asked of Shaquille O’Neal for No. 33 as Orlando chose O’Neal No. 1 overall in the 1992 draft out of LSU.
O’Neal ended up wearing No. 32 for the Magic.
Ayton was the top overall pick in the 2018 draft.
Two months later, the Suns traded Chriss and Brandon Knight to the Rockets for De’Anthony Melton and Ryan Anderson.
DA: “Then I wanted No. 7, ‘Seven Steps To Heaven,’ but Kevin Johnson had it and it was retired up in the rafters.”
Walking alongside him, Devin Booker said, “Ring of Honor. Ring of Honor.”
Johnson was inducted into the franchise’s “Ring of Honor” on March 7, 2001.
For the curious, the late jazz legend Miles Davis had an album titled, ‘Seven Steps To Heaven,’ released in 1963. Ayton was born in 1998.
Continue.
DA: “They had No. 22 and 22 is like a new beginning. So, I was like, let me rebrand my whole thing.”
Q: Why did you want No. 0?
DA: “Zero, I always treated myself as a player who was always searching for or searching to be valuable in this life.
Basically, I was going to change it, but it was just a little motivation.”
Chriss now wears No. 32 playing for the Dallas Mavericks, who are facing the Suns in the Western Conference semifinals.