Is the number 23 retired?
The Chicago Bulls and Miami Heat retired the number 23 in honor of Michael Jordan. Jordan never played for the Miami Heat. Jordan is one of the 14 people to have a number retired by two different teams.
LeBron James
This four-time NBA MVP and three-time NBA World Champion was inspired by Michael Jordan to wear the number 23. In fact, LeBron says that Michael was his primary inspiration for becoming a basketball player. LeBron has kept the 23 alive on customer basketball jerseys today.
Shaq's original team, the Magic, will make O'Neal the first player in franchise history to have his number retired in February when his No. 32 is raised to the rafters. O'Neal will become the only NBA player other than Wilt Chamberlain to have his number retired by three former teams.
Following Bryant's death, the Dallas Mavericks announced that number 24 would no longer be issued by the team (despite Bryant spending his entire career with the Lakers). While the number has not been issued since then, it is not honored in the rafters as an official retired number.
But which one, No. 23 or No. 6, or maybe both? Lakers governor Jeanie Buss says the Lakers will retire LeBron James' jersey when he's inducted into the Hall of Fame.
According to Kevin Garnett, Kobe Bryant switched his jersey number from 8 to 24 to one-up Michael Jordan's 23 which became iconic during MJ's run with the Chicago Bulls.
Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James will once again wear No. 23 this season, after switching to No. 6 for the last two years.
Shaq started his NBA journey with the Orlando Magic wearing No 32 (and won a title using that number with the Miami Heat) and finished sporting as No 36 for the Boston Celtics - but it is his time sporting No 34 for the Los Angeles Lakers that marks the pinnacle of his career.
Shaquille O'Neal won three NBA titles with the Lakers. They retired his No. 34 jersey in 2013. The Hall of Fame player also won a championship ring with the Miami Heat. They retired his No. 32 jersey in 2016.
He retired from the NBA on June 1, 2011 and held a press conference on June 3, 2011 to officially announce his retirement. After Shaq's college career he had 1 child.
Why does LeBron wear 6?
According to Rich Paul, friend and former agent of 'King James', "LeBron's decision was out of respect for Bill Russell". LeBron was among the last players in the NBA to wear the number 6, after the league retired the number 6 in memory of Bill Russell, who died in the summer of 2022 at the age of 88.
It was another accolade for MJ
The Heat didn't have any obligation to perform this historic gesture. MJ never played for the franchise, and his jersey number didn't need to be retired. However, the team respected Jordan so much that they felt compelled to do so.
Kobe Bryant (8 and 24)
He played from 1996 to 2016, playing 1198 games and winning five championship rings. He is the only player with two retired numbers, wearing each for 10 years.
LOS ANGELES -- In a nod to Boston Celtics legend Bill Russell, LeBron James will change his uniform number from 6 back to 23 for the Los Angeles Lakers this coming season, Rich Paul of Klutch Sports Group told ESPN on Saturday.
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.
| Cleveland Cavaliers | |
|---|---|
| Division titles | 7 (1976, 2009, 2010, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018) |
| Retired numbers | 7 (7, 11, 22, 25, 34, 42, 43) |
| Website | www.nba.com/cavaliers |
| Association Icon Statement | |
MJ was motivated as a child by his older brother Larry, so they decided to both wear the Jersey number 45. And when they became partners on the same team, he couldn't wear the same number. So he decided to split the number 45 in half. and rounded it up to 23, and that's how he got the number 23.
23 to the United Center rafters in November 1994, which coincided with the unveiling of his statue outside of the arena as well. With his transition to the diamond, Jordan donned the No. 45, his number as a high school baseball player at Laney High, while playing for the Double-A Birmingham Barons.
Jordan's number 23 was retired by the Bulls and he has a statue of his likeness in the United Center. He was voted a top 50 all-time NBA player and was inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame. Jordan was born in Brooklyn, N.Y. when his father was on a business assignment, but he was raised in North Carolina.
History of Jersey Number Changes
23 in Cleveland, he switched to No. 6 when he joined the Miami Heat in 2010. However, he returned to No. 23 for his second stint in Cleveland, starting in 2014.
Why does LeBron and Jordan wear 23?
LeBron James will wear the No. 23 jersey next season - 14 years after swapping it out of respect for Michael Jordan. The four-time NBA champion has opted to switch back to wearing the No. 23 jersey for next season, out of respect for the late Bill Russell.
| NO | Player | DOB (AGE) |
|---|---|---|
| 0 | J. Hood-Schifino | 6/19/2003 (20) |
| 23 | L. James Lakers' LeBron James: Slowed down by illness in loss LeBron James Lakers' LeBron James: Slowed down by illness in loss | 12/30/1984 (39) |
| 21 | M. Lewis | 7/27/2002 (21) |
| 12 | T. Prince | 3/22/1994 (29) |
Shaq wore 33 in college, then was 32 for the Magic because another player had 33. Lakers 32 and 33 were already retired and Heat 33 was Mourning. Suns 33 was retired so he wore 32 then. He finally wore 33 for the Cavs but then in Boston, 32 and 33 were retired and 34 taken.
Shaquille O'Neal wore numbers 32, 34, 33 and 36.
Shaquille O'Neal is No. 9 on Nick Wright's Top 50 NBA Players of the Last 50 Years. Shaq is widely regarded as one of the most dominant players in NBA history.
