CREATED BY SPORTS BETTORS FOR SPORTS BETTORS
LET’S HEAR YOUR STORY
For the fourth time in his career, LeBron James is changing his jersey number.
It's a familiar one. His agent Rich Paul told ESPN's Dave McMenamin on Saturday that James will switch his Los Angeles Lakers jersey from No. 6 to No. 23 — the number he started his career with and has worn at multiple NBA stops.
Paul told McMenamin that James is making the switch "out of respect for Bill Russell.”
Russell — the Boston Celtics icon and 11-time NBA champion — died in 2022. The NBA retired his No. 6 prior to last season, but players who were wearing the jersey number at the time were allowed to continue wearing it if they chose. James wore it last season as the league dedicated its season to honoring Russell.
Now, he's leaving it behind.
James wore No. 23 in high school and when he joined the NBA with the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2003. When he joined the Miami Heat in 2010, he switched to No. 6, stating at the time of his decision that it was in honor of Michael Jordan. And that nobody should ever wear No. 23 again.
"I just think what Michael Jordan has done for the game has to be recognized some way soon," James said in 2009. "There would be no LeBron James, no Kobe Bryant, no Dwyane Wade if there wasn't Michael Jordan first.
"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. I'm starting a petition, and I've got to get everyone in the NBA to sign it. Now, if I'm not going to wear No. 23, then nobody else should be able to wear it."
In 2014 when he rejoined the Cavaliers, James switched back to No. 23.
He wore it for the remainder of his Cavaliers career through 2018 and donned it through his first four seasons with the Lakers. In 2021, he switched back to No. 6. He tried to make the switch in 2020 to allow newly acquired Anthony Davis to continue wearing No. 23, a nod to his new All-Star teammate. But it was too late that season for the NBA to swap out the No. 23 gear. Davis instead opted for No. 3, but James has worn No. 6 since 2021 regardless. Until next season.
At 38 years old, is this the final jersey number change of his career?
Daniel Weinman was crowned winner of the 2023 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event on Monday, taking home a record breaking $12.1 million in winnings. Weinman had to outlast the other 10,043 entrants to take home the prize and get his hands on his share of live poker’s largest ever prize pool – a staggering $93,399,900. As well as taking home the prize money, 35-year-old Weinman also got his hands on the WSOP Main Event bracelet. The huge bracelet contains 500 grams of 10-karat yellow gold, as well as 2,352 various precious gemstones.
Daniel Weinman won the World Series of Poker's main event world championship on Monday in Las Vegas, earning $12.1 million along the way. Playing in the tournament for a 16th year, Weinman was tops in a deep pool of 10,043 players vying for $93.39 million. His victory came after just 164 hands at the final table. "I was honestly on the fence about even coming back and playing this tournament," the 35-year-old Atlanta native told reporters afterward. Weinman's final table featured Jan-Peter Jachtmann, who landed in fourth place and took home $3 million, as well as Toby Lewis, who finished seventh and secured $1.42 million. According to the Las Vegas Review-Journal, the main event's entry pool far outpaced the previous record of 8,773 set in 2006. "I've always kind of felt that poker was kind of going in a dying direction, but to see the numbers at the World Series this year has been incredible," Weinman said. "And to win this main event, it doesn't feel real. I mean, [there's] so much luck in a poker tournament. I thought I played very well." Steven Jones finished second, securing $6.5 million. And Adam Walton settled for third and a $4 million prize.
Your experience on this site will be improved by allowing cookies.
