Lakers superstar LeBron James planned to give away his number to new teammate Anthony Davis and switch back to No. 6 for the upcoming season – but Nike reportedly wouldn’t sign off on the change, and James will continue to wear No. 23 for the upcoming NBA season.
James announced his intentions last month, and even posted a photo with Davis holding a No. 23 Davis jersey.
According to Yahoo’s Chris Haynes, the NBA was willing to allow the change to happen despite James missing the deadline to request a number change, but Nike – which still has a large inventory of James’ No. 23 jerseys – balked.
Via Yahoo:
“But due to production issues and the massive financial hit Nike would have absorbed from the No. 23 James inventory that’s already been produced, Nike could not accommodate the request for this season, sources said.
Out of consideration for fans who already purchased James’ jersey and to avoid distractions for a team competing for a championship, the Lakers star will bypass seeking the number change for this season.”
Davis announced on Instagram that he’ll wear No. 3 next year, a number he once wore in elementary school.
New Laker Jared Dudley had already selected No. 3, but he tweeted that he’ll take James’ backup number to save Nike any headaches.
