It was announced that LeBron James would change his number from six back to 23 out of respect for Bill Russell, and he had a simple reaction with one emoji to the Lakers' official announcement of the number change on Twitter.

This is not the first time that LeBron James has worn No. 23 with the Lakers. He wore the number when he joined the team, wearing it from 2019-2021, which includes the team's championship in 2020. James switched to six for the 2022-2023 season, but now he is switching back to 23.

When James made the switch to six, it was thought that Anthony Davis wanted to wear No. 23, but he stuck with three. Anthony Davis stayed with three because he wants that to be the number that hangs in the rafters with the Lakers.

The Lakers will expect to contend for another title in the 2023-2024 season. They reached the Western Conference Finals after making some trades to improve the depth of the team around James and Davis. They were swept by the Denver Nuggets in the Western Conference Finals. The Lakers did enough to get past the Memphis Grizzlies and the Golden State Warriors, but the Nuggets were too much, as they were for everyone else in the NBA Playoffs.

Hopefully for the Lakers and their fans, the switch back to No. 23 for James brings another championship. Darvin Ham said that is the expectation for the franchise after the loss to the Nuggets. It will be interesting to see if the team can live up to those expectations in 2023-2024.