“3 is to honor my brother and 6 is my draft pick”: When Marcus Smart revealed why he chose #36 as his jersey number

Boston Celtics two-way star Marcus Smart is the only active player in the NBA who chooses to wear #36 as his jersey number.

The Boston Celtics are the most accomplished franchise in the NBA with 17 titles in their cabinet. No team in any sport has as many retired jersey numbers as the Massachusetts-based franchise (23). So, there aren’t many numbers available for players to choose from. Luckily, Marcus Smart managed to get the number that he wished for.

The 2022 Defensive player of the year has been in the NBA for 8 years now and has repped the number 36 for the entirety of his professional career.

The two-way star wore the number 3 back in his high school. The 6-foot-3 guard then went on to wear the number 33, to honor his dead brother, in the two years he was at Oklahoma State University.

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A week after getting drafted back in 2014, Smart revealed why he chose to wear #36 on his kit.

Why does Marcus Smart choose to wear #36 as his jersey number?

On June 30^th, 2014, Marcus took it to Twitter, revealing that he would wear #36 for the Cs. In the same tweet, the then-20-year-old explained why he chose a peculiar number that only 18 other players have ever worn in the history of the league.

Smart wrote on his Twitter:

#36
3 for the history. 6 for the draft pick. 

As he mentioned, the number 3 is to honor his dead brother, Todd Westbrook. Passed away at age 33 due to cancer, Todd used to wear the number 3. As for the 6, it was the pick that the Boston Celtics drafted him at back in 2014.

Also Read: When Klay Thompson revealed how auspicious #11 was to wear it on his jersey

So far, the number #36 has been kind to him – 3 All-Defensive team selections and a DPOY winner. Without a doubt, Marcus is making his late brother proud.