On the heels of LeBron James’ confirming his plan to continue playing, the Lakers superstar has reportedly chosen to change his jersey number ahead of his 21st NBA season.
After returning to the No. 6 prior to the 2021–22 season, James will return to the No. 23 for his sixth season in L.A, according to ESPN’s Dave McMenamin. The 38-year-old will don the familiar number for the fourth time in his career, and the first time since the ’20–21 season.
“It’s LeBron’s decision,” Klutch Sports Group CEO Rich Paul told McMenamin. “He chose to out of respect for Bill Russell.”
As Paul noted, James wore the No. 6 last season after he was allowed to keep it to honor the great Russell, whose iconic number was retired league-wide following his death in July 2022.
It's official. 23 is back. pic.twitter.com/hEqb5rQANk
— Los Angeles Lakers (@Lakers) July 16, 2023
With James back in the No. 23, the NBA’s all-time leading scorer will head into his age-39 campaign with an immense amount of added attention. Of course, that was more than likely already going to be the case given the fact that the former Cavaliers’ star’s “new” number is, arguably, just as legendary as the No. 6—his number during his days with the Heat and in the Olympics.
The last time NBA fans saw James in the No. 23, the then-37-year-old averaged 30.3 points, the second-highest average of his career, 8.2 rebounds and 6.2 assists in 56 games for a 33—49 Lakers squad a year removed from an NBA title.
Will the future Hall of Famer turn in similar stats in Tinseltown this year? Only time will tell, but rest assured, James will certainly look to do all he can to avoid a similar collapse coming off L.A.’s 2023 Western Conference finals appearance.
