When LeBron James teased that he’d be changing his number back to 6, the same digit he rocked when he arrived in Miami to play alongside Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade, there were questions about the seriousness of it. James’ new teammate Anthony Davis has worn no. 23 for the entirety of his career with New Orleans, but as the first to arrive and head this new era of Los Angeles Lakers basketball, James certainly had first dibs on the digits.
As a welcoming gift to Davis, James made things official on his Instagram, presenting Davis with a no. 23 Lakers jersey next to the caption “Officially a Laker!!” James will indeed rock no. 6 for his second season in the purple and gold.
Despite ultimately losing out in the Kawhi Leonard sweepstakes, the Lakers will sport one of the deadliest duos in the West with the pairing of Davis and James. AD is far and away the best big James has ever played with, and Davis’ ability to handle the ball, run the floor and pop out for three seems to make him the perfect partner for James as he heads into the back end of his career. It may take some getting used to seeing James rocking no. 6 again, but that 6 to 23 alley-oop is going to be something to behold no matter which way it’s going.
