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Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James will be wearing No. 6 in the 2021-22 NBA season after gifting No. 23 to teammate Anthony Davis, as The King himself revealed on Instagram.
.@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
Although LeBron James had intended the move to occur in time for the upcoming season, it appears that Nike–who is responsible for crafting the jerseys supplied to the league–was unable to produce the apparel in time for the start of the new campaign on December 22nd.
The revelation by LeBron contradicts earlier reports that Anthony Davis would forgo a switch in jersey numbers. Originally, Harrison Faigen of SB Nation indicated that AD would continue wearing the No. 3 jersey, to which he had grown attached. Not only was it the jersey number he wore in his first season with the Lakers, which ended with LA winning the NBA championship, but it was also his designation during his high school career.
With both James and Davis ranking in the Top 10 league wide for jersey sales, the announcement that the two will switch numbers carries significant financial implications. Though individual players typically see the greatest movement in the popularity of their jerseys following a move to another franchise, the changing of numbers has historically increased the amount of apparels sold. Following LeBron's change in numbers with the Miami Heat, sales of his jerseys increased significantly, as was the case with the Kobe Bryant when he switched from No. 8 to No. 24 in the mid-2000s.
While James may just be trying to be a good teammate, the added profit he and Davis are likely to incur is a gift of its own.
