Lakers' LeBron James Will Have Jersey Retired After HOF Induction, Jeanie Buss Says

Having won one NBA championship and broken the all-time scoring record wearing purple and gold, LeBron James is going to join an illustrious group of Los Angeles Lakers legends to have their jersey retired by the club.

In an interview with Mark Medina of Sportskeeda, Lakers governor Jeanie Buss said she has "absolutely no doubt" James' jersey will hang from the rafters at Crypto.com Arena after he retires and gets inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame.

"When he does so, then we will retire his jersey," she said. "Knowing that he will make it into the Basketball Hall of Fame, he will have his Lakers jersey retired, no doubt about it."

The Lakers have retired jerseys for 12 different players, with Pau Gasol being the most recent one on March 7.

It's unclear which of James' jerseys the Lakers will retire. He wore the No. 23 during his first three seasons in Los Angeles before switching to No. 6 starting with the 2021-22 season.

Rich Paul, James' agent, told ESPN's Dave McMenamin on July 15 that the four-time NBA MVP is going back to No. 23 for the 2023-24 season.

"It's LeBron's decision," Paul said. "He chose to out of respect for Bill Russell."

Russell, who died on July 31, 2022, had his No. 6 permanently retired across the league to honor his life and legacy on and off the basketball court.

Asked if the Lakers would consider retiring both of James' numbers, Buss simply said it's "a discussion for another time."

Kobe Bryant had both his No. 8 and 24 retired by the franchise on Dec. 18, 2017.

James teased retirement after the Lakers were swept in the Western Conference Finals by the Denver Nuggets. He finally confirmed during the ESPYS on July 12 he would be returning next season.

When next season begins, it will mark James' sixth year with the Lakers. It's his second-longest tenure with one franchise in his career after the 11 seasons he spent over two stints with the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Of the three teams James has played for, he has his highest scoring average (27.4 points per game), assist average (8.0) and rebound average (8.1) as a member of the Lakers.