The NBA players were allowed to replace their names with social justice messages on the back of their jerseys for the season restart in Orlando. Michele Roberts, executive director of the National Basketball Players' Association (NBPA), told ESPN's The Undefeated on Wednesday that "Equality" was the most popular choice, followed by "Black Lives Matter."

By Wednesday afternoon, 285 of the expected 350 who are eligible for restart have made their decisions over the message, and 17 chose to go with their names, according to Roberts.

"The players have taken this seriously with what they're going to put on their jerseys, understanding that they were going to have a platform giving a message to a wide variety of people. Given the large number of guys that are participating, I think these men appreciate that this is a chance to do exactly what they wanted to do. Keep the conversation going. The guys are excited to get back to the game. Hopefully, we can work to have some great basketball and give some great messages," said her.

The NBA and the NBPA agreed over the following suggested messages and sent them to players via e-mail: lack Lives Matter; Say Their Names; Vote; I Can't Breathe; Justice; Peace; Equality; Freedom; Enough; Power to the People; Justice Now; Say Her Name; Sí Se Puede (Yes We Can); Liberation; See Us; Hear Us; Respect Us; Love Us; Listen; Listen to Us; Stand Up; Ally; Anti-Racist; I Am A Man; Speak Up; How Many More; Group Economics; Education Reform; and Mentor.

Chris Paul, president of the NBPA, went with "Equality" on the back of his No. 3 jersey with the Oklahoma City Thunder. "I chose 'EQUALITY' because it reminds us that in order to have real impact and change, we need to make a conscious effort to level the playing field and create systems that are not bias based on race, education, economics, or gender," said Paul.

The messages will stay on players' jerseys for the first four days of the restart before they decide whether to continue carrying them. If they want it, the message will still be displayed above the number, and the name will be added below the number.

Mark Tatum, the NBA deputy Commissioner, told ESPN that there was nothing the league did not want written on the jersey. "No. There were no bright lines drawn. There was definitely a point of view that we did want names on the jerseys. There is a functional reason to want names on the jerseys. We knew there were players that wanted names on the jerseys as an identifier. We worked through the issues with the players' association to a place where they feel good about it, and we feel good about it as well," said Tatum.

As for those who decided not to add social justice messages to their jerseys, both Roberts and Tatum said they respect that. "It's a small minority. I have always taken the position that you can decide how you want to respond to things any way you want to," said Roberts. "In the conversations that we were having with the players' association, there was a view from the executive committee that there might be some players who want to play for their family name, and that is what is important to them," said Tatum.

(Cover Photo: No. 3 jersey of Chris Paul of the Oklahoma City Thunder. /VCG)