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Just hours after LeBron James gave the No. 23 to his newest Los Angeles Lakers teammate Anthony Davis, the star forward seemingly revealed his new number on social media. Not surprisingly, it’s one that fans have seen James wear previously in his career, both with the Miami Heat and Team USA.
On Thursday night, LeBron took to Twitter and posted a bit of a cryptic tweet, but the meaning behind it was quickly apparent to anyone and everyone who saw it. The reveal of James’ decision came in the form of an emoji with the number six before it.
After LeBron’s decision to pass along the No. 23 to Davis was revealed, the popular belief was that he’d go with No. 6. It’s also worth noting that NBA analyst Dave McMenamin reported as much on ESPN’s The Jump shortly after the news came to light.
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LeBron James’ Choices for Numbers Other Than 6 With Lakers
Although the popular consensus was that James would return to the No. 6 for the second time in his NBA career, there were quite a few options already off the table for the Lakers star. Below is a list of the numbers that have been retired by the Lakers over the course of their history, courtesy of NBA.com.
- 8 & 24 (Kobe Bryant)
- 13 (Wilt Chamberlain)
- 22 (Elgin Baylor)
- 25 (Gail Goodrich)
- 32 (Magic Johnson)
- 33 (Kareem Abdul-Jabbar)
- 34 (Shaquille O’Neal)
- 42 (James Worthy)
- 44 (Jerry West)
- 52 (Jamaal Wilkes)
Realistically, a return to No. 6 for LeBron almost made too much sense, and there was very little that pointed to any other outcome. For what it’s worth, he could have gone with something like No. 7 (number of rings he’d need to pass Michael Jordan), or even No. 3 if he wanted to give a tip of the cap to his close friend in Dwyane Wade.
While the return to six makes for a good storyline, most Lakers fans would have likely been on board with something like No. 3 if it meant showing love to Wade, who retired following the 2018-19 season.
Kyle Kuzma Wants LeBron to Bring Back the Headband
Along with LeBron’s decision to return to his former number, many fans called for him to bring the headband out of retirement as well. Apparently, Lakers teammate Kyle Kuzma is a fan of the idea also, as he tweeted to James shortly after and said to “give the fans what they want.”
While it’s unknown if fans can expect James to bring the headband back for the 2019-20 season, one thing we do know is that many owners of No. 23 jerseys may need to go shopping. Beyond just adding a new No. 6 purple and gold jersey to the collections, fans will surely want to add some Davis gear as well.
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