LeBron is going to switch back from #6 to #23. He’ll say it’s out of respect to Bill Russell, since 6 is now retired league wide, but other factors are probably involved as well.

Kobe is the only player in NBA history to have two different numbers retired for a single team, having spent all 20 seasons with the team. The Lakers might hesitate to retire both of LeBron’s numbers after only 3 seasons wearing #23 and 2 seasons wearing #6, but it’s a much easier call if they just honor #23. He won their 17th championship wearing that number.

Plus, with Nike putting out 3-4 different jersey designs for each team and new Statement/City editions nearly every year, his jersey sales will be through the roof with a “new” number in a brand new kit.

I expect it to be announced in the next week or two, since other franchises have started announcing jersey number swaps and free agent choices.

EDIT: Suck my balls