The final LeBron James game-worn No. 6 jersey sold for $272,800 on Tuesday night at Sotheby’s.
James recorded 40 points, nine assists and 10 rebounds in his final game wearing No. 6 as the Los Angeles Lakers fell to the Denver Nuggets 113-111 in Game 4 of the 2023 Western Conference finals.
James wore two jerseys during the game, and, crucially, this jersey is matched to the second half, which suggests it truly was the last time he donned No. 6 in an NBA game.
James has mostly been synonymous with the No. 23 throughout this year.
Perhaps not as much as Michael Jordan — no other athlete could ever be so closely associated with a uniform number — but nevertheless, James' No. 23 was iconic in its own way.
James began wearing No. 23 during his sophomore season at St. Vincent-St. Mary High School as a tribute to Jordan, who James has endlessly been compared to throughout his career. He kept the number after becoming the No. 1 pick of the 2003 NBA Draft for the Cleveland Cavaliers.
In 2009, ESPN reported James wanted to see the NBA retire No. 23 for Jordan, saying he was willing to choose another number to “initiate the movement.”
“I’m starting a petition, and I've got to get everyone in the NBA to sign it,” James told ESPN. “Now, if I'm not going to wear No. 23, then nobody else should be able to wear it."
James wore No. 6 as a member of the 2008 Olympic team and during Cavaliers practices, according to The Plain Dealer, as a tribute to his second-favorite player, Julius Erving.
It was only when James left for Miami in 2011 that he eschewed No. 23 in favor of No. 6.
James switched back to No. 23 when he returned to Cleveland in 2014.
After initially keeping No. 23 when he joined the Los Angeles Lakers in 2018, James switched back to No. 6.
Then, after Bill Russell’s death, the NBA announced it would retire No. 6 league-wide, and James again switched back to No. 23.
Will Stern is a reporter and editor for cllct.