Blog Focus: LeBron James Wants the NBA to Retire Michael Jordan's Number
LeBron James thinks Michael Jordan's impact on the NBA was so great the entire league should retire the No. 23.
James, who wears 23 himself, has said that he'll switch to No. 6 next season out of respect to Jordan.
Blogs had several reactions to James' suggestion and gesture today:
Hoop Doctors: "Well i’m happy to report Lebron James is doing his part, and i’m unhappy (but not surprised) to report that David Stern has yet to ’see the light’ even in the face of the recent MJ induction this fall into the basketball Hall of Fame."
Ball Don't Lie: "LeBron made the comments following Thursday night's win in Miami. Jordan, as you might have guessed, was in attendance to subtly remind the world about his new 25th anniversary sneakers. Do these guys have timing or what?"
FanHouse: "All that said, which players currently wear No. 23? Basketball-Reference has the answer: Devin Brown, Marcus Camby, Toney Douglas, Stephen Graham, Kevin Martin, Wes Matthews, Jodie Meeks, Jason Richardson, C.J. Watson, Martell Webster, Louis Williams. Five starters, only three of which (Camby, Richardson and Martin) are "name" players. Three rookies. A couple of a bit players. LeBron is clearly the major hurdle in getting No. 23 retired; we'll see if he can convince his Nike mates Martin and J-Rich to do the same."
Wating for Next Year: "When we dove in to why James would make the move, the obvious answer was the marketing. TD wrote, “Changing to #6 would sell a whole host of new jerseys and enhance his already gigantic popularity. I would say it was a brilliant move if Kobe Bryant hadn’t thought of it first. When Kobe went from #8 to #24, his new jersey shot to the top of the most-sold list ahead of Lebron, who at the time was numero uno.”"
Reds Army: "Nice gesture LeBron. However... do you realize the greatest winner in NBA history, and the true pioneer of the league - Bill Russell - wore #6? There would be no Jordan, if not for Russell. Get a clue and a history lesson."
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