Something never before seen on an NBA Basketball card...

...because it's never been possible to see it before. There are, even 70 years into the history of the NBA, several jersey numbers that have never been worn by anyone in history. In 2017-18, one of those missing numbers appeared on an NBA court for the first time ever.

2017-18 Panini Instant NBA Playoffs #116

Jose Calderon donned the #81 and appeared in 57 games during this past season. (starting 32 of them).

The Cavaliers did not bring him back for 2018-19 and he has signed on with the Pistons, which will be his second time playing there. It's unknown what number he will wear this time but he did refer to the number on twitter, so hopefully he will wear it again. He wore #8 there during the portion of 2012-13 he played there after being traded on January 30th, 2013.

2017-18 marked the second year in a row that a missing number debuted on the court, and on cards. In 2016-17 the #95 was worn for the first time by rookie DeAndre' Bembry, who wore it again in 2017-18. I meant to write about it during the season but never got to it, so I'm combining the two of them now.

2016-17 Hoops #278

Interestingly, while Calderon was born in 1981, Bembry was NOT born in 1995. I don't know what, if any, significance it holds for him. 

The other numbers that have never been worn in NBA history:
58, 59, 64, 69, 74, 75, 78, 79, 80, 82, 87, 97

You can be sure if any of these numbers are worn, and appear on cards, I'll post about it!