Last Nights Nugget

Lebron to wear #6

Last Night after the Cavaliers Heat game, Lebron James said that no one in the league should be wearing Michael Jordan's number 23 in honor of his greatness and what he did for the game of basketball. This includes Lebron himself who has made the number 23 into a heroic number for the city rather than the symbol of the guy who hit the shot on Elo. Lebron announced he will change his number to 6 (coincidence its the number of titles Jordan won?) starting next year. This got us talking, is Lebron right that the NBA should retire MJ's number league wide as the NHL did for Gretzky's 99?

Here at Scuttlebutt we love teams retiring numbers for their all time greats. That is why the Bulls have retired 23 to the rafters. Retiring the number 23 for the entire league means never seeing it again. Do people realize this? Why would you want to take out of the game one of the most important things left from its greatest ambassador? One of Michael's gifts to the league is his iconic number and the meaning an awe behind it. Watching Lebron soar through the air with 23 trailing behind him makes you remember Jordan doing the same. Retiring 23 will feel more like engraving it on a tombstone rather than on a pedestal. We want our superstars wearing 23. 23 represents greatness, clutch, and a swagger like no other. 23 doesn't belong up in the rafters with Detroit Piston championship banners, it belongs on the backs of our generations great superstars and the generations to follow.