Behind The Box Score

For the majority of LeBron James’ life, #23 has been a mainstay. Sporting the number his senior year of high school which resulted in numerous national televised games, a state and national title and earlier last month, a movie, the King or Akron Hammer as he has been dubbed all across America this week, is planning a change in his number to honor Michael Jordan. A week removed from a trip to New York which included a Yankee parade, draining a fadeaway j then landing in the lap of Jay-Z and numerous indications that James will be going to the city that never sleeps after this season, James is back in the headlines.

This time for good reason. In a time where professional athletes have been criticized for being disrespectful to their sports, James is the alter-ego. When asked about the matter, the King responded by saying, “If you see 23, you think about Michael Jordan,” James said, according to The (Cleveland) Plain Dealer. “You see game-winning shots, you think about Michael Jordan; you see guys fly through the air, you think about Michael Jordan; you see fly kicks, you think about Michael Jordan. He did so much, it has to be recognized, and not just by putting him in the Hall of Fame.” With numbers such as Jackie Robinson’s being retired in baseball, this seems fitting for the NBA. As their best player in the history of the league is not immortalized in the Hall of Fame, a move such as the one James is initiating makes perfect sense. For James, six is a number he is very familiar. Wearing the number in the Olympics, James helped lead the US team to the gold in the Beiging Olympics in 2008. It has also been noted that James wears the number in practice and has been doing for the past two seasons. Whether James is changing his notorious number for respect of Jordan or just to keep the summer of 2010 off his mind, either way the situation looks good for Cleveland, as the Cavs are hot, riding a three game win streak that included wins in Orlando and Miami.