Brian Windhorst of the Cleveland Plain Dealer reports:
Basking in the glow of a victory over the Heat, Cavs superstar LeBron James looked over at his idol sitting in the stands at AmericanAirlines Arena on Thursday night and made a command decision.
Out of respect to Michael Jordan, who sat courtside and watched James score 34 points, James said he is planning on switching his number after this season from No. 23 to No. 6. It just sort of came out, but it was obvious he’s been thinking about it for a while.
And James wants to lead a movement to get every player who wears No. 23 in the league to give it up as a tribute to Jordan.
It sounds like LeBron is still merely thinking of doing it, so it isn’t guaranteed to happen. And as for the move, I’m not sure how I feel about it. I’m as big a Jordan fan as anyone else, and I definitely think of Jordan when I hear “23,” but years more of LeBron would also make me think of him, too. And I’m not sure that would diminish any aspect of Michael Jordan. It would just diminish the number.
Thing is, I’ve never been a big jersey number guy. Others care about it more. So to me it’s no huge deal.
And, of course, LeBron switching numbers would also result in a lot more new jersey sales. But let’s not think about that right now.
