Back in the summer of 2019, LeBron James tried giving his jersey number (23) to his newest teammate, Anthony Davis, before he was denied by Nike. The brand shot down the request, citing that it came after the March 15th deadline.
On Instagram, LeBron James recently revealed plans to continue the jersey swap…. in 2021.
.@KingJames says he's still gonna give his No. 23 jersey to AD after this season.
Bron was going to switch back to No. 6 last summer before Nike delayed the plan because it "could not accommodate the request," per @ChrisBHaynes pic.twitter.com/eGSQTFmXkt
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) December 5, 2020
As two of the NBA’s top-selling jerseys, changing numbers doesn’t happen easily. When anyone in the league changes their jersey, Nike has to respond by printing and supplying thousands of new ones. No doubt, the shortened offseason made the jersey swap impossible for Nike, and it appears Anthony Davis will have to rock No. 3 for at least another season.
As for LeBron, it’s not clear if he’ll return to the number he wore in Miami, No. 6, but that would certainly make the most sense, as it’s got some sentimental value to the 4x MVP.
“My second-favorite player was Julius Erving, and he wore No. 6,” James said back in 2010. “I wore 32 in high school because Dr. J wore it at first. My first child was born on Oct. 6, it’s my Olympic number, my second child was born in June.“
For now, Bron and AD will have to continue with the status quo, but it won’t be long now before the switch is finally allowed to happen.
