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LeBron James is changing his jersey number yet again.
The Lakers star will be returning to No. 23, the number he wore his first three seasons in Los Angeles, after he sported No. 6 the past two seasons.
“It’s LeBron’s decision,” his agent, Rich Paul, told ESPN’s Dave McMenamin.
The NBA last August announced it would be retiring No. 6 league-wide in honor of Bill Russell, the trailblazing civil rights champion and Boston Celtics legend who won 11 NBA titles. Players who were already wearing No. 6, such as James, could continue to do so. But James, himself one of the greatest players in NBA history, is now making the change back to No. 23 “out of respect for Bill Russell,” per Paul.
James had indicated to ESPN in September that he was contemplating a change after the 2022-23 season, but said wearing No. 6 for one more campaign “means a lot to me.”
He returns to No. 23, the number he wore when he broke into the league with the Cleveland Cavaliers as the first pick in the 2003 NBA draft. The NBA’s all-time leading scorer switched to No. 6 when he joined the Miami Heat in 2010, but returned to No. 23 for his second stint in Cleveland starting in 2014. When he joined the Lakers in 2018, he kept No. 23 before switching back to No. 6 in 2021.
Contributing: Jeff Zillgitt
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