Vince Carter made the varsity basketball team as a freshman at Mainland High School in Daytona Beach, Fla. Because he was the youngest player, he didn’t have his choice of jersey number. Carter was upset with this and told his mother.

She told him to choose a number and make it famous. Ten players who’ve worn 15 in the league’s history have made it to the Basketball Hall of Fame. Nine of them played in the 1950s or 1960s. A total of 320 players have worn the number in the NBA, and none of them may be as popular or have had a more storied career as Carter. It’s safe to say he succeeded with making 15 popular.

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For the past few weeks, we’ve gone around asking the Hawks’ players for the significance of their jersey numbers. Here are their stories:

Justin Anderson, No. 1: “It was my first jersey number playing with my brother’s AAU team. I was the smallest one on the team. Usually, jerseys went from the size based on the numbers. I was like 8 years old playing on a 15-and-under team. I didn’t play much, but it always stuck with me. When I got older, No. 1 was always the point guard, so I had to get 23 because that was my brother’s number on the same (15U) team. We had hoop dreams together. We wanted to get to the NBA. We had that same dream, so those were the numbers I’ve worn, 23 and 1.”

Including Anderson, 13 players have worn No. 1 in Hawks history. It was most recently worn by Jeremy Tyler in 2013. 

Tyler Dorsey, No. 2: “I don’t really have any deep meaning with mine. I usually wore 1, and I couldn’t choose that here, so I just rocked with the No. 2. I’ve been rocking with 2 since last year, and that hasn’t changed. I always wore 1. When I came in here, someone already had 1. I was a rookie, so I couldn’t take anyone’s number, but I’ve just been rocking with 2. If I get a chance, I might go back to 1.”

Dorsey is the 10th player in the franchise’s history to wear No. 2, including Joe Johnson from 2006 to 2012 and Moses Malone from 1989 to 1991. 

Kevin Huerter, No. 3: “I think the first time I wore No. 3 was because of Allen Iverson. I always wore it growing up, through travel ball and in AAU. I got to Maryland, and Juan Dixon’s number is unofficially retired as No. 3, so I had to take No. 4. I got to Atlanta and Jaylen Morris had No. 3 in Summer League. When he joined the (Milwaukee) Bucks, and we got Justin Anderson, it worked out because he wanted No. 1, and I wanted No. 3, so I got back to my original number. But for some reason, I wore No. 3 because of Iverson. I think I had a poster of him in my room or something, so I just liked No. 3.”

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Five out of the past six players to wear No. 3 in Atlanta have only stayed with the Hawks for one season. 

Daniel Hamilton, No. 5: “The reason why I wear No. 5 is because I’m the fifth child out of my brothers and sisters in my family. My brothers and sisters all wear Nos. 1, 2, 3 and 4. We lined it up like that. Last year, No. 5 wasn’t available in (Oklahoma City), so I wore 25. When it was available here, I just went back to No. 5.”

Josh Smith held No. 5 the longest in franchise history. Dion Glover is the only player to have No. 5 for longer than three seasons with the Hawks.

Omari Spellman, No. 6: “To be honest, I wanted to wear No. 14. That’s what I wore in college and high school, but seniority rules. Dewayne (Dedmon) has it. What happened with how I got 6 is actually a funny story. They asked me which number I wanted on draft night. I said 14. They told me Dewayne Dedmon wears 14. I was like, ‘Cool. Just give me 5 because 1 plus 4 equals 5.’ They told me I could have it, but Malcolm Delaney was on the team at the time, and he wore 5, so they couldn’t let me have it. I just asked for 6 after that then. I would like to wear 14, but 6 ain’t a bad number. I like the sound of ‘OS6.’ That sounds dope.”

The first 13 players to wear No. 6 in Hawks history have only spent one season in Atlanta. No one has kept No. 6 for more than three seasons. 

Jeremy Lin, No. 7: “I was undrafted and played Summer League with Dallas. I didn’t get to choose my number as a Summer League invitee. I got No. 7, and I was like, ‘Oh, that’s cool.’ Seven is one of God’s numbers. It represents completion and perfection and different things throughout the Bible, so I was like, if I make it to the NBA from Summer League then I’m definitely going to keep this number because out of Summer League every year, you might see three to five guys sign a real NBA contract. It reminds me that I’m supposed to be here and to enjoy it.”

Lin is the 22nd player in the franchise’s history to wear No. 7 with Ersan Ilyasova being the most recent player to wear the number. 

Jaylen Adams, No. 10: “It’s a family number. I was No. 3, but Kevin took it. I wore No. 10 in college. There’s not a big story behind it. All of my family, cousins and best friends all wore 10. When I got to college, someone already had No. 3, so I just chose 10.”

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Ten is the second-most popular number in the team’s history with 27 players wearing it. Tim Hardaway Jr. was the last player to wear it before Adams. 

Trae Young, No. 11: “When I played my 16U year, they didn’t have the No. 3, which I grew up playing with. That was when I started getting offers from colleges and big-time schools. So I rolled with 11 because I played really well that summer. My dad was No. 3, and my whole family was No. 3, so that’s why I grew up playing in that jersey. But I just ended up playing well in 11 and stuck with it.”

Eleven is the third-most popular number in the team’s history with 25 players wearing it. Josh Magette was the most recent player to wear it. 

Taurean Prince, No. 12: Prince wasn’t available to participate because of his injury. He’ll be included when he’s available to comment. Twelve is the most popular number with 46 players wearing it. 

Dedmon, No. 14: “Fourteen is what I wore in college, and I wore 14 in college because that’s the highway you take to get to my house. That’s where I’m from. That’s my city. I had to switch to 3 (in San Antonio) for other reasons, but 14 is my college number, and it’s always been my favorite number because of the 14 Freeway.”

Former player/head coach Lenny Wilkens is the most notable player to wear No. 14 in the team’s history. 

Carter, No. 15: “That was the number that was available when I was younger. I can’t remember what number I wanted when I was younger. I think I wanted 6, 23 or 12. Those weren’t available. As a freshman in high school, I was the youngest on varsity, so I had to get what’s left. For some reason, I just wanted 15 out of the numbers that were left because it was available. I’ve always wanted 15 since then. My mom told me to pick a number and make it famous and popular. That was what I needed to hear to get over the disappointment of not getting the number I wanted. At that time, 15 wasn’t very popular. When you had the standard uniforms, 15 wasn’t in there, so they had to make that number for me. There weren’t that many guys that wore 15 in the NBA that kids were dying to wear. Everyone wanted 6 or 23. I said to myself that I was going to make 15 popular, and I’ve stuck with it since then.”

Al Horford famously wore No. 15 during his time in Atlanta and was OK with Carter wearing it during this season with the Hawks. It’s very possible the number could be retired in the future. 

Miles Plumlee, No. 18: “One of my buddies in New York (Will Roush) — it’s his favorite number. In Milwaukee, I sold 21 to Greivis Vásquez. I had to come up with something new. I don’t have a lot of favorite numbers. (Will) is Jewish, and he said it meant life or something. I think some other Jewish player had 18, so I get a lot of people hitting me up thinking I’m Jewish now for that. He helped me pick it out.”

Including Plumlee, only five players have worn No. 18 in the franchise’s history. 

John Collins, No. 20: “Mama Collins was asking me to get 20. It has to do with the significance of my grandfather, so her father. That was the day he was born. I wanted zero originally. Jeff Teague had it when he was here. He’s a Wake Forest guy, too, so I thought it would be cool to do a déjà vu sort of thing. I actually did my press conference with zero. They had a bunch of jerseys made, but I switched to 20.”

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Twenty hadn’t been worn since 2014 when Cartier Martin rocked the jersey. 

Alex Poythress, No. 22: “Me and my twin sister wore it all through growing up. It was my dad (Antoine’s) number, so it stuck with the family. I always loved it. Any chance I could get — I had it in middle school, high school and college. In Philly, I couldn’t get it. Last year, I couldn’t get it. I had a chance to get it back this year, and I’m glad I could. My dad and I are cool. He lives in Georgia, so he comes to a lot of games. I see him a lot more now that I’m playing in Georgia. It’s good to see him and that side of the family a lot more.”

Twenty-one players have worn No. 22 in the team’s history. 

Kent Bazemore, No. 24: “When I was playing in YMCA from 8 to 10 (years old), one year I had 2 and the next I had 4. When I moved up to middle school, I chose 24. My mother and I are 24 years apart, so I was paying homage to that. When I got older, I stuck with it. My rookie year, I had No. 20. That was the closest I could get to it when I was in Golden State because Rick Barry’s number is retired. When I went to the (Los Angeles) Lakers, I got No. 6 because two plus four equals six. Then when I got to Atlanta, I got to have 24. It’s just a significant number because there are 24 hours in a day, 24 seconds in a shot clock. A lot of the things that are very important to me revolve around that number. To me, it’s just a complete number.”

Only two players since 2006 have worn No. 24 for the Hawks: Bazemore and Marvin Williams. 

Alex Len, No. 25: “There’s no big story behind it, to be honest. I used to play with No. 21 because (Kevin Garnett) was my favorite player. When I went to Maryland, a player already had it. So, I just decided to wear No. 25. When I got drafted with the (Phoenix) Suns, I chose 21, but when I came here I couldn’t get it obviously because of Dominique Wilkins.”

Los Angeles Clippers head coach Doc Rivers wore No. 25 when he played for the Hawks from 1984-1991.

EDITOR’S NOTE: DeAndre’ Bembry’s brother Adrian was shot and killed in 2016. He was 20 years old. 

Bembry, No. 95: “After I got drafted, they asked me what number I wanted to wear. I was just trying to do something that had to do with his age, which was 20. I was thinking about that. I thought 95 was a dope number because no one else has had it before. I think it’s just my contribution to my little brother.”  

What do you think of when you look at that number? 

“For however long I play in the league, keeping that number on my back will always keep him on my mind and the story will be out there. I still get questions about why I wear 95 now, and I love the question because I get to tell people the reason behind him, and then they understand my background and what I’ve been through. I think it’s pretty dope.

“That changed me and my family. I’m still trying to figure out how to mentally prepare myself for days like this. That’s what my family is for. I have family here in New York that was very close to him that I’ll see after the game. I’m still trying to figure it out, but most of the time, he’s always deep in my heart and my spirit. And I know that’s the case whenever that number is on my back.”

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Sometimes people like to keep something like this private, but I know you’re outspoken about it — why? 

“How me and my family are, we just talk about stories about when he was alive just to keep his name relevant. We will never forget him. We just want to keep him relevant. It’s still fresh to us. We just want to keep his name out there. We want to keep his story out there. There are other people who are dealing with these types of things that aren’t playing basketball. I’m just one of those people who happen to be living out my dream and I get to share my story.”

What do you think he’d tell you if he was alive today? 

“We’ve had these conversations before I got here. He always talked about these moments, and he knew it would come sooner or later. I know he would be proud of me. We pictured this a long time ago. It’s tough that he’s not here while I’m living my dream. I just know he would be proud of me.” 

(Photo of Trae Young: Jason Getz-USA TODAY Sports)