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USA Today
14-06-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
OKC Thunder jersey history No. 15 - Hank Beenders (1948)
OKC Thunder jersey history No. 15 - Hank Beenders (1948) The Golden State Warriors have had over 600 players don the more than 60 jersey numbers used by their players over the more than 75 years of existence the team has enjoyed in its rich and storied history. Founded in 1946 during the Basketball Association of America (BAA -- a precursor league of the NBA) era, the team has called home the cities of Philadelphia, San Francisco, Oakland, and even San Diego. To commemorate the players who wore those numbers, Warriors Wire is covering the entire history of jersey numbers and the players who sported them since the founding of the team. For this article, we begin with the second of 27 players who wore the No. 15 jersey for the Warriors. That player would be Golden State big man alum Hank Beenders. After ending his college career at LIU, Beenders joined the (defunct) Providence Steamrollers in their (and the BAA's) first-ever season of existence in 1946. The Haarlem, Netherlands native would be dealt to the (then) Philadelphia (now, Golden State) Warriors in 1948, his stay spanning just 24 games before he'd be dealt again, this time to the Boston Celtics. During his time suiting up for the Warriors, Beenders wore only jersey No. 15 and put up 2.5 points per game. All stats and data courtesy of Basketball Reference.
USA Today
02-06-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
On this day: Hank Beenders, Eric Riley, Dontae Jones born
On this day in Boston Celtics history, former Boston big man Hank Beenders was born in Haarlem, the Netherlands in 1916. Beenders would later immigrate to the U.S. at age eight and won a National Invitational Tournament championship with Long Island University in 1942. He then would join the Providence Steamrollers as one of the first international players of the Basketball Association of America (BAA), a precursor league to the NBA. He would be traded to the then-Philadelphia Warriors in 1948, who would turn around and deal him to the Celtics in that same year with center Chick Halbert for big man Ed Sadowski. The Haarlem native would play just 8 games for Boston in 1948-49, his last stop in the BAA. He averaged 2.4 points and 0.4 assists per game -- rebounds were not yet being recorded. It is also the birthday of former Celtics small forward Dontae' Jones, born in 1975 in Nashville, Tennessee. Jones played his college ball with Mississippi State. He was drafted with the 21st overall pick of the 1996 NBA draft and then traded to Boston for Chris Mills shortly after the start of the 1997–98 NBA season. Jones would play 15 games for the Celtics that season, recording 2.9 points, 0.6 boards, and 0.3 assists per game before being waived by the team in January 1999. Finally, it is also the birthday of former Celtics center Eric Riley, born this day in 1970 in Cleveland, Ohio. A Michigan alum, Riley was taken with the 33rd overall pick of the 1993 NBA draft by the Dallas Mavericks. Need a break? Play the USA TODAY Daily Crossword Puzzle He would play for the Houston Rockets, Minnesota Timberwolves, and Los Angeles Clippers as well as a stint overseas before joining Boston as a free agent in 1999. He would play one season for the Celtics, averaging 2.2 points, 2.8 rebounds, and 0.4 assists per game with the team.
