The passing of 11-time NBA champion Bill Russell has been extremely sad news for the league, who lost a true icon of the sport. Back in the day, not only he shone with the Boston Celtics, but he was also a civil right pioneer. Therefore, the league has decided to honor his legacy by retiring his jersey number 6 league-wide. That makes Russell the first player in NBA history to have his uniform number retired across the Association.
Despite the NBA's decision, it turns out that LeBron James doesn't need to change his jersey number. The reason why he can still keep his number 6 Lakers uniform is because the league decided that all players who currently wear No. 6 will be grandfathered in.
Consequently, James and all players who already have the number can continue to use it. However, the number 6 jersey will never be issued again by any NBA team to any player. Therefore, James can change his number anyway but will not be able to take it back in the future.
LeBron James New Number: Jersey Options If He Decides To Change No. 6 Anyway
Though he doesn't have to, LeBron may decide to change his jersey number anyway. Let's keep in mind that he had already switched from No. 23 once out of respect to Michael Jordan. In the event he switches his uniform number again, he may choose one of these options:
- 0: Bronny's number (Russell Westbrook would have to change it)
- 7 or 12: The jersey numbers he used playing high school football.
- 29: The sum of the numbers he has used so far (23+6)
- 30: Bryce's number
