All you Cleveland Cavs fans who didn't burn your LeBron James jerseys during the summer of 2010 are in luck - the King will be wearing #23 once again for his second go-around in Northeast Ohio.
"23 it is," James announced via Instagram on Sunday.
The ten-time NBA All-Star will shelve the #6, which he wore for his four seasons with the Miami Heat. He will now return to the number that graced his uniform during his time at St. Mary-St. Vincent High School in Akron, Ohio, and throughout his first seven years with the Cavs.
James' jersey number switch brings back one of the most iconic jersey numbers in the history of the NBA, once made ubiquitous by the legendary Michael Jordan. Just four years ago, James lobbied the NBA to retire the number as a tribute to His Airness due to the fact that the league's logo was already taken (for good by all accounts) by Hall-of-Famer Jerry West.
"It's time," James said, according to the Associated Press in 2010, via Ben Golliver of SI.com. "He's the best basketball player we've ever seen. Mike does it on the court and off the court. If you see 23, you think about Michael Jordan. You see guys flying through the air, you think about Michael Jordan. You see game-winning shots, you think about Michael Jordan. You see fly kicks, you think about Michael Jordan. He did so much, it has to be recognized, and not just by putting him in the Hall of Fame.
"He can't get the logo, and if he can't, something has to be done. I feel like no NBA player should wear 23. Nobody. If I'm not going to wear No. 23, then nobody else should be able to wear it."
James' #6 jersey with the Miami Heat was the number-one seller among all NBA jerseys during the 2013-14 NBA season. The four-time NBA MVP has consistently ranked at or near the top of the list in jersey sales throughout his entire eleven-year NBA career.
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