12 years after the 2012 London Olympics, LeBron James once again donned the national team jersey. He attended the last Olympics of his career with the ambition of bringing home a gold medal for American basketball.
At 39 years old, LeBron James is still maintaining his peak performance. This is extremely admirable, because it is rare for anyone to maintain their ability to compete when they are approaching their forties.
At the 2024 Paris Olympics, LeBron James chose the number 6 jersey, a far cry from the number he wore for the Los Angeles Lakers in the 2023/24 season. In this article, The Sporting News will explain LeBron James’ choice.
Why will LeBron James wear number 6 when playing for the US team at the 2024 Paris Olympics?
LeBron James first wore the number 6 jersey for the US team at the 2006 FIBA World Cup. That was also the number he wore with the Miami Heat from 2010 to 2014.
LeBron James has said many times that the number 6 is “my number”. This is explained by the fact that Bronny James was 𝐛𝐨𝐫𝐧 on October 6, while Bryce James was 𝐛𝐨𝐫𝐧 on June 14. Both of LeBron James’ 𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘥ren are associated with the number 6 in their lives.
In addition, LeBron James also said that Julius Erving was one of the players he idolized when he was a 𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘥. Erving wore the numbers 6 and 23 throughout his NBA career.
However, LeBron James’ loyalty to the number 6 jersey also depends on an old rule of international level matches.
Jersey number rules in FIBA tournaments
Prior to 2018, players were only allowed to wear numbers 4 through 15 in FIBA-affiliated tournaments. For this reason, LeBron James could not wear number 23 for the US national team in previous years, even though that was the number he wore when he first started playing in the NBA.
After 2012, LeBron James also no longer plays for the US team. When he returns to Uncle Sam’s jersey at the 2024 Paris Olympics, LeBron James will still be loyal to the number 6 jersey that has been with him for many years when competing at the international level, even though the number 4 to 15 rule has long been abandoned.
Notably, LeBron James made his Olympic debut in Athens 2004 wearing the number 9 jersey. However, he swapped jersey numbers with Dwyane Wade in other tournaments in the future and stuck with the number 6 jersey.
