Choosing your sports-themed lucky Powerball numbers: Kardashian boyfriends, Yogi Berra and more

Ed. note: This column is big dumb fun. It has Powerball and Kardashians in the headline. We have Mike Tyson’s Punch-Out themed numbers toward the end. Please turn away now if you were expecting something deeper.
With the Powerball jackpot at $1.5 billion, newbie lottery enthusiasts may be looking for a few more tickets to play than just “my birthday, my wife’s birthday, my address and the day I got my dog.” Sports fans, especially, have a deep affinity for numbers — like jersey numbers (23 stirs up a lot of emotion in basketball fans), championships won (Yankees fans know exactly what 27 means), the height of a basketball hoop (who doesn’t remember lowering a hoop from 10 feet to 8 so you could dunk on your friend’s driveway hoop?), and more. A lot more.
Advertisement
So we decided, as a service to our subscribers, to help you fill out some extra Powerball tickets with symbols of fandom. Below is just a sampling of lucky numbers you can make your own. But first…
How do I play Powerball?
It’s a fairly easy exercise. You pay $2 per game and pick 5 numbers from 1 to 69 for the white balls. You then select a number from 1 to 26 for the “powerball” (which can be a number you already selected in the first five. You need all five numbers na the powerball to win the grand prize. If you hit just the first five, you win $1-2 million (depending on a multiplier you can pay extra for) and then there are cascading prizes for things like three white and the powerball, one and the powerball, and you even get $4 back if you get just the powerball right.
Also, rookie mistake — you cannot buy tickets with a credit card. Bring cash.
On to the numbers!
The lucky Powerball numbers for a Yankees fan
We’re picking the Yankees as an example because they have an endless supply of numbers to use. And there will be snubs. Maybe you prefer Joe DiMaggio (5) over Derek Jeter. Perhaps you want to commemorate the 27 titles instead of Yogi Berra. Maybe John Montefusco signed an autograph for you when you were a kid and you want to pay it back with a 26 as your Powerball. The choice is yours. Consider this more of a starter kit. But the six we’re going with are:
2, 3, 7, 8, 23 and Powerballing 4
2: Derek Jeter. You cannot make a list of lucky numbers, as a Yankees fan, without The Captain.
3: Babe Ruth. Mythical, magical, shot-calling legend. He’ll bring good luck to the ticket
7: Mickey Mantle. Almost mythical at this point. If you win $1 million you only have to do it 3-4 more times to afford his rookie card (although there are ways even commoners can get in on the Mantle market in case things go awry).
Advertisement
8: Yogi Berra. Supremely underrated when you talk Yankees legends. He played arguably the most arduous position for 18 years, made 15 All-Star teams, won the MVP three times (and finished second or third another three times), and has 10 of the Yankees’ 27 titles. Respecting Yogi will be good juju for this Powerball card.
23: Don Mattingly. His “23” was actually the Powerball in the last drawing. So any Yankees fans who went that route doubled their money!
Powerball 4: Lou Gehrig. the man who proclaimed himself to the “the luckiest man on the face of the Earth.” Take that, wrap it up, and make it your Powerball.
The lucky Powerball numbers for a Jacksonville Jaguars fan
On the opposite end of the Yankees are the Jacksonville Jaguars, a team with so little meaningful history we had to pick a number based on the pools they have in the stadium. Does it make it any less legit of a Powerball card? No. Could it work in our favor because there are fewer Jags fans out there and we won’t have to split the $1.5 billion with a bunch of people from New Jersey and the Bronx? Of course! Our six for the Jags are:
1, 2, 8, 28, 32 and Powerballing
28: Fred Taylor. Arguably the best running back the team has seen outside of…
32: Maurice Jones-Drew. Probably the best running back the team has seen since…
1: Travis Etienne. Stud in the making and a total overreaction to his early 2022 returns. But hope springs eternal!
2: The number of pools in the stadium. A $63 million renovation in 2014 added two pools to the experience. And it brought with it a lot of joking from pundits, but how many pools does your Florida stadium have?
8: Mark Brunell. A lefty QB who guided the Jags to their first playoff appearance? This is what whimsical and quasi-significant Powerball tickets were made for.
Powerball 5: Blake Bortles. He was a long-running joke on “The Good Place,” making him the only Jaguar to really transition into pop culture.
Advertisement
Did we exclude Tony Boselli and Jimmy Smith just to force in a pool number joke? Yes. But we must zig when others zag here. First rule of Powerball.
The lucky Powerball numbers for the NBA exes of the Kardashians
When you combine money, luck, and professional athletes together, there should be only one name that comes to mind: The Kardashians. Before you roll your eyes, let’s walk through this one.
The Kardashians make money moves. Even if you’re not a fan, you have to respect that the family knows how to pull in cash. From their reality show to their lip kits, the Kardashian family net worth is well over the $1.5 billion (if you believe Parade magazine!) you could win by sapping some luck from them.
You may also remember the overplayed joke of the Kardashian and Jenner siblings dating a whole starting NBA lineup. That is not true, BUT the Kardashians have dated several NBA stars, who also had some great luck in their careers during that time. Whether coincidence or great business strategies, the Kardashians have a lot of experience in picking the right NBA numbers. So why not use that to your Powerball advantage? Our six for the Kardashian exes are:
7, 10, 13, 32, 43, Powerball 1
43: Kris Humphries. Also known as Kim Kardashian’s first husband, Kris Humphries played 12 seasons in the NBA, on eight different teams. He was originally drafted by the Utah Jazz in 2004 and officially retired in 2019. His best NBA years are thought to be from 2010-2012, which happens to be when he started dating Kim Kardashian. While his marriage to Kim was short, Humphries is an important part of the Kardashian story. His jersey number was 43 and he belongs at the front of your Powerball numbers.
7: Lamar Odom: Another first husband of the Kardashian family, Lamar Odom married Khloe Kardashian in 2009. Odom went on to win two NBA championships and was named NBA Sixth Man of the Year during his marriage to Khloe. Odom is no longer part of the family but he has admitted to watching the latest seasons of “Keeping up With the Kardashians;” his relationship with Khloe was one of her longest on the show.
10: Blake Griffin Short and sweet, Blake Griffin dated Kendall Jenner for a little less than a year, starting in the fall of 2017. Griffin was the first player to score 50 points during that season and achieved his seventh career regular season triple-double. Griffin doesn’t represent a particularly large moment in Kendall’s life, but she did Vogue, he made her happy and that’s enough for us! His jersey number is currently 91, so we’re going with 9+1=10.
13. Tristan Thompson. One of the most hated men (by Kardashian fans) may be Tristan Thompson, who won an NBA championship in 2016, shortly before being spotted with Khloe Kardashian in public. The on-and-off couple have two children together. Thompson’s history with the Kardashian family is rocky at best, but he still belongs in your Powerball numbers, if not your hearts.
32: Rashad McCants. Making guest appearances on “Keeping up With the Kardashians” and “Kourtney and Khloé Take Miami,” Rashad McCants dated Khloe in 2009. McCants played his last NBA game in 2009. Unfortunately, McCants has publicly stated he regrets his relationship with Khloe and that, “without that situation in play, I’m a $60-70 million player.” We’re going with his North Carolina number, 32, to get the good vibes of his pre-Kardashian days.
Powerball 1: Devin Booker. Rumors have it that Devin Booker dated Kendall Jenner for two years — and may still be dating her. While fans continue to speculate and Kendall continues to shine, Booker has become an All-Star and won a gold medal in the 2020 Summer Olympics.Booker has potential and may be a part of the Kardashian story for a while.
More sports themed tickets to ponder
NASCAR Cup Series current leaders
22 (Logano), 20 (Bell), 1 (Chastain), 9 (Elliott), 11 (Hamlin) and we’ll Powerball 8 for the GOAT, Dale Earnhardt.
Slapshot jerseys
16, 17, 18 (Hanson brothers), 1 (Lemieux), 3 (Carlson), Powerball 7 for Reggie Dunlop
Syracuse University
5 (McNabb), 21 (The Pearl), 22 (Diamond Ferri, who had the greatest single game in SU history and avenged the Big East), 35 (Jim Boeheim), 44 (everyone), Powerball 3 for the number of Boeheims on the team or coaching in 2021-22.
Kevin Costner sports movies
1 (Draft Day, had the No. 1 pick), 7 (Tin Cup, played the 7 iron), 17 (jersey in For Love of the Game), 45 (Tomatometer for “For Love of the Game”), 67 (his current age), Powerball 8 for Crash Davis’ jersey in Bull Durham
Weird fact while researching Costner movies — Robin Hood only got 51% on Rotten Tomatoes. We remember it being better than that.
Mike Tyson’s Punch-Out!!
7, 37, 35, 9, 63 (the closest we could get to 007 373 5963). Powerball 31, as he was 31-0 in the game.
(Top photo: Kevin Winter/NBCUniversal/Getty Images)