James told The Plain Dealer on Monday that he’s filed the paperwork with the NBA office to switch his jersey number from No. 23 to No. 6 next season. He had to make the decision this week, the deadline to make the request to the NBA is Wednesday.
The NBA does not have to fulfill the request, players who don’t change teams have to apply to change their number in March before the previous season. However, the wave of new jersey sales the switch promises to trigger would likely be too enticing for the league to turn down. In 2006, Kobe Bryant requested his number to be changed from No. 8 to No. 24. The NBA approved the move and Bryant’s jerseys quickly shot to No. 1 in sales across the world. James has been in the top three in jersey sales in the U.S., China and Europe in recent years but hasn’t enjoyed the top spot for several years. Player do not directly benefit from merchandise sales, however. It goes into a league-wide pool that is distributed to teams and then players based on seniority.
Lebron James has wore the #23 since his sophomore year of high school, but next season he wants to change to #6 to honor NBA Legend Michael Jordan. #6 is the number he wore in the Olympics and during Cavaliers practice.
Back in November LeBron went as far to say that he wanted to start a petition to get everyone in the league to follow suit. Lucky for LeBron their are only 9 players in the league that wear #23, Tony Douglas, Stephen Graham, Wes Matthews, Jodie Meeks, Jason Richardson, C.J. Watson, Martell Webster, and Lou Williams.
Many will think LeBron is copying Kobe Bryant when he changed from #8 to #24. The interesting thing to remember is Kobe changed numbers while still on the Lakers, whereas Lebron could be #6 on any team next year…..like the team that has a retired #23, the Chicago Bulls. Major League Baseball retired Jackie Robinson’s #42, and putting MJ in that company is a little off course but at least the notion from LeBron for the 12 players to take part is respectable.
Good for LeBron James paying respect to his elders. Oh and this is hilarious by the way:
Up to this point in his career, Lebron James has exceeded the unbelievably high expectations and hype levied on him coming out St. Vincent St. Mary’s Prep Academy in Akron, Ohio. Night in and night out, the 6’8” human bulldozer terrorizes opposing defenses with indefensible drives to the basket, innate passing and playmaking ability, and a vastly improved jump shot. Most of the time, he is simply unguardable. Not only does he have the size and strength of an NFL linebacker, his end-to-end speed makes him impossible to stop in the open court. Would you take a charge from that man? I think not.
Quite simply the NBA, better yet the sports world in general, has never witnessed such an athletic specimen. In addition to his physical gifts, Lebron James has an extremely high basketball IQ and a natural unselfishness that is rare with superstars. He understands the value of getting his teammates involved and does so willingly. For all the praise heaped upon the 25-yr-old reigning NBA MVP, is it possible that he has yet to reach his peak? I’m sure opposing NBA GMs and coaches pray the answer to this question is yes.
Although already a dominant force and on course to being the best small forward ever, there are still some holes in the King’s game. Lebron James has worked tirelessly over the past few off-seasons to improve his shooting touch and now is a legitimate perimeter threat. However, he has the tendency to fall in love with the “J”. He’ll knock down a few jumpers early and will continue taking the lower percentage shot and go away from his strength, which is driving to the basket. The man is a virtually automatic “And-1” when he goes to the rim and should not stray away from this. Besides, his perimeter game is not quite on Kobe’s level…yet.
Getty Images/Kevork Djansezian
Secondly, he tends to lose concentration when defending his man in half-court sets. Now, many will scream “Are you crazy? He made the 2009 NBA All-Defensive Team!” Indeed, Lebron demonstrated a commitment to playing hard on the defensive end last season and continues to make plays on that side of the ball this season. He has made multiple Sportscenter “Top Plays” lists by chasing down unsuspecting players for volleyball spike-like blocked shots. But, I’ve noticed that he will take his eye off the player he’s guarding, focusing more on helping on defense. This allows his man to break open for wide open shots.
Honestly, that’s the only so-called flaws he has in his game. I expect Lebron James to win at least three titles before his career over and he’ll definitely be a first-ballot Hall of Famer. He is a transcendent player and personality that, like Jordan, forces you to stop everything your doing just to watch him play. I’ve yet to see him play in person. But, when I do, best believe I’ll have my camera out, ready to capture the pre-game King James powder shower spectacle. That is, of course, if I can afford to sit close enough!
Nuggets 97 Rockets 92: The Nuggets won for the second straight time without Carmelo Anthony, the NBA’s second-leading scorer, who sat out with a sprained left ankle. The Rockets lost for the eighth time in 12 games, despite yet another dominating start. Chauncey Billups and J.R. Smith were enough to beat the sputtering Rockets who have lost a bit of the intensity they had early in the season. Not to point the finger but Trevor Ariza is shooting 13-45 over the three game skid.
Hawks 90 Spurs 105: An old dog never loses its tricks and the Spurs used everyone of those tricks on display in a trouncing of Atlanta. Tim Duncan grabbed a career-high 27 rebounds and scored 21 points, and the San Antonio Spurs ended their three-game slide with a 105-90 win over the Atlanta Hawks on Wednesday night. It was the first 20-20 game since 2005 for Duncan, who bested his previous career rebounding high of 25, set against Miami in 2003. Jamal Crawford earned his 23rd career 4-point play. Now just one behind Reggie Miller’s NBA record. Whwn the Hawks win and lose BIG!
Lakers 118 Pacers 96: Bynum scored 22 points in the first half. Kobe Bryant took over in the second half and finished with a game-high 29 points to go with nine rebounds and seven assists. Bynum finished with 27 points and 12 rebounds. Indiana decided to go small and it failed. Times have been rough in Indiana, for basketball at least. The Indianapolis Colts are playing in the Super Bowl next Sunday! Los Angeles doesn’t even have a football team, so…small victories.
AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki
Bulls 96 Thunder 86: Derrick Rose scored 26 points, Noah added 13 points and 11 rebounds and the Bulls held the Oklahoma City without a field goal for the first eight minutes of the fourth quarter on their way to a 96-86 victory on Wednesday night. The Truth Sports knew the Del Negro ship would stay afloat. It was Chicago’s fourth straight win — all on the road — after starting the season 4-15 away from the United Center. The Bulls — fresh off wins at Phoenix, Houston and San Antonio — improved to 22-22, returning to .500 for the first time since they were 6-6 on Nov. 21. A disappointing 3 game losing streak that gets tested Friday against the Nuggets….good luck
Heat 103 Raptors 111: Chris Bosh had 24 points and a season-high 18 rebounds,Andrea Bargnani scored 27 points and Raptors played another solid game after beating the Los Angeles Lakers on Sunday.
Ron Turenne/NBAE via Getty Images
“We put (the Lakers game) behind us,” Bosh said. “One thing about a big win, you don’t want to beat a good team and then come back and have a poor performance. You always want to keep the momentum going and I think we’re building some good resistance at home.” Dwyane Wade had 35 points and 10 assists and former Raptors center Jermaine O’Neal scored 22 for Miami, which lost Michael Beasley to a right knee injury. The injury may keep him out of Heats next game against Detroit. Bosh is the onlyRaptors player to start all 46 games this season, and even more appealing to the Heat, and the Rockets, and the…….
Timberwolves 95 Cavaliers 109: Cavs are 9-0 at home against Western Conference teams, if you consider the Timberwolves a team. Just kidding, but this one was a no-brainer. LeBron is dancing in the highlights, and thats never a good sign.
Grizzlies 99 Pistons 93: The Pistons 11-19 (57.9%) free-throw shooting was the only negative output of the game, unfortunately the Grizzlies shot 26-28 (92.9%) from the stripe. The Grizzlies have passed all the wins they had all last season(24). Ben Gordon (groin) missed his 19th game of the season, and Will Bynum (ankle) also sat out for Detroit.
76ers 88 Bucks 91: This game was not watched, yet it was played. Brandon Jennings scored 18 points, hitting a 12-footer with 22 seconds left, and the Bucks held on for a 91-88 win on Wednesday night after the Sixers missed three shots to tie in the final 11 seconds. Iverson finished with six points, all in the first half.
Jazz 106 Trailblazers 95: Here are some mismatch numbers. The Jazz had 19 turnovers the Blazers had 9. Utah shot 60.3 percent from the field, hitting 38 of 63 shots. Portland shot 36.3 percent (33 of 91). Utah led by as many as 26 points during the first half. The Jazz won for the eighth time in nine games and took over second place in the Northwest Division. Carlos Boozer, who scored 14 points, left the game early in the third quarter with a right calf strain and did not return. Can you hear the money slipping through Boozers fingers. It sounds like when Sonic loses his rings.
Hornets 123 Warriors 110: Did you know Stephen Curry is 5th in steals per game, crazy right? Chris Paul scored 38 points to lead five New Orleans starters in double figures. Paul shot 14 for 19 from the field, made all nine of his free-throw tries, dished out nine assists and grabbed six rebounds. Paul is a lock for All-Star reserve. Monta Ellis returned for Golden State after missing the past two games with a sprained right ankle and had 19 points, nine assists and six rebounds. He had been averaging 30.7 points over his previous 16 outings. Hope this doesn’t hurt Monta’s chances of making it to the All-Star Game as a reserve. The roster is to be announced tomorrow.
The Lakers are the best team in the NBA, but on Thursday night on the road against the Cavaliers
REUTERS/Aaron Josefczyk
they showed signs of what could be there downfall. The “toughness” of the Lakers is always put in question when they face a Eastern Conference team and are physically outmatched. Pau Gasol is the player the finger points to first, and on thursday he was out rebounded by J.J. Hickson by 6 rebounds. The Lakers bench who shined against Orlando on Monday scoring 42 points was held to only 22 points. An interesting note is the Lakers scored 87 points in both losses to the Cavs this year. LeBron James finished with 37 points and nine rebounds. James has won seven of his last nine head-to-head meetings against Kobe Bryant. Bryant finished with 31 points but was only 4-of-15 in the second half as the Lakers lost the opener of an eight-game road trip. The Lakers will play 7 games in the next 9 days against teams(Knicks, Boston, Memphis) that will be playing the best ball they have played all year due to the defending champs as the opponent.
It was the first career 3-pointer for Gaines, a rookie who was just signed last week to a 10-day contract and was playing only his fifth NBA game. Gaines, known as “Yata” by his new teammates, scored all nine of his points in the fourth, against “Duke” LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers who Utah hasn’t beaten since Nov. 7, 2007.
check out the full schedule @http://www.nba.com/schedules/index.html
The Clippers owe Blake Griffin a BIG thank you with 8 nationally broadcasted games. The Rockets have no nationally broadcasted games.
Key Matchups:
10/27 Boston @ Cleveland
The Cavs open the season at home against the Celtics. Cavs with Shag and Celts with Sheed’ on TNT, a great game to open the season. The Cavs and Celts will definitely be fighting for #1 in the East and a loss here(even though its the first game) could be big.
10/28 Houston @ Golden St.
Stephen Curry makes his NBA debut at home against the Yao and T-mac-less Rockets.
10/30 Chicago @ Boston
The first time these teams have seen each other since last years playoffs. Bulls are without Ben Gordon. ESPN
10/30 Orlando @ New Jersey
Vince Carter returns to Jersey, the boo-birds will be in attendeance.
11/03 Lakers @ Oklahoma City
First road game for defending champs comes against the Thunder, its good to be the Champs!
11/04 Lakers @ Houston
Trevor Ariza and Ron Artest go up against their old teams, could get nasty!
11/06 Cleveland @ New York
LeBron returns to the Garden, this time with Shaq.
11/11 Cleveland @ Orlando
ESPN showcases the first matchup between the two teams that met in the Eastern Conf. Playoffs.
11/13 Lakers @ Denver
Denver seeks revenge after last years lost in the Confrence Finals
11/15 Houston @ Lakers, Clippers @ Oklahoma City
Ariza returns to the Staples Center, Griffin returns to Oklahoma
11/20 Orlando @ Boston
Orlando elimanated the Celts from the playoffs last year, with a healthy KG and Rasheed Wallace it might not be as easy.
12/04 Miami @ Lakers
D-Wade(Basketball Robot#3) battles against the Lakers, on ESPN
Posted 24 May 2009 — by thetruthsports Category NBA
The so called “Great Debate” rages on, as the world chooses who is a better player Kobe Bryant or LeBron James. We at The Truth Sports will let the numbers be the guide!
*Note LeBron is six years younger then Kobe.
Kobe Bryant
Vitals
LeBron James
Lakers
Team
Cavaliers
30
Age
24
6-6
Height
6-8
210
Weight
250
Lower Merion (Pa.)
High school
St. Vincent-St. Mary (Ohio)
13
NBA experience
6
13th overall, 1996
NBA draft
1st overall, 2003
2008-09 STATISTICS
82
Games played
81
26.8 (3)
Points (NBA rank)
28.4 (2)
5.2 (60)
Rebounds (rank)
7.6 (27)
4.9 (29)
Assists (rank)
7.2 (9)
1.46 (12)
Steals (rank)
1.69 (8)
46.7% (58)
Field-goal%. (rank)
48.9% (34)
35.1% (101)
Three-point FG%. (rank)
34.4% (109)
36.1(38)
Minutes (rank)
37.7 (13)
7 (79)
Double-doubles (rank)
29(T-14)
6.3 (4)
Fourth-quarter points (rank)
6.9 (2)
65-17
Team record
66-16
CAREER CREDENTIALS
6
NBA Finals appearances
1
4 (2000-03, 09)
NBA titles
0
MVP (2008), All-NBA first team (2002-04, 2006-09), All-Defensive team (2000, 2003-04, 2006-09)Finals MVP(2009)
Awards
MVP(2009)Rookie of the year (2004), All-NBA first team (2006, 2008, 2009)All-Defensive team(09)
Lakers 118 Pacers 96: Bynum scored 22 points in the first half. 
check out the full schedule @http://www.nba.com/schedules/index.html
