Jossif Ezekilov
In a tribute to Hall of Famer (and new Bobcats owner) Michael Jordan, Lebron James will change his number from 23, the number Jordan wore for the majority of his Bulls career, to number 6, his number with the US Olympic Team. While, Lebron had been talking about this before, no one thought he would actually do it. Of course, as this is King James, people are taking notice, much more so at least than whenAndray Blatche switched his number from 32 to 7.
Players switch their jersey numbers voluntarily very rarely, and when they do, it’s for a specific reason. Kobe Bryant, for example, changed from number 8 to number 24, as a sign that he was turning over a new leaf in his career. Tracy McGrady went from his iconic number 1 to number 3 to raise awareness for Darfur.
This tribute is a fitting one for MJ, and a very noble one for the guy who has seemingly adopted “King” as his first name. Some cynics would venture to say that it’s all a marketing ploy, that Lebron is using this just to boost his merchandise sales. The argument isn’t totally illegitimate: Bryant’s jersey sales surged when he changed his number. But why would Lebron do this? It actually goes against the rules of marketing. His jersey is one of the highest selling in recent years, so why would he change something that has been proven to make him money? Furthermore, his logo, featured on all Lebron merchandise including his highly successful shoe line, centers around the number 23; changing that practically goes against marketing rule no. 1. So call me a Lebron lover, but I think his intentions aren’t market driven.
Some have ventured that this may be a sign that Lebron will stay in Cleveland since he could switch to number 6 on a new team next season if he wanted to move. It’s intriguing, but I’d venture to say that this in and of itself is no indication.
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