from 23 to 6: is it really for jordan?

so i just read about this a couple of minutes ago. it seems Lebron James is changing his jersey number from 23 to 6 by next season. he's been talking about honoring the greatest player to ever play the game a.k.a Michael Jordan. we all saw him wear number 6 in the 2008 Beijing olympics, and probably the best player to wear it since Bill Russel and Julius Erving (yes, Eddie Jones was included in that discussion).

with that, Yahoo! Sports' Adrian Wojnarowski (god i love how this guy writes sports stories) gave his own take. basically, he shares that the whole basketball world knows that LBJ is doing this for LBJ, not for MJ. he knows how Mike and Kobe have built global brands around their names and jersey numbers, even watched Kobe shift from 8 to 24 which skyrocketed his jersey sales to the top of the list (leaving the #23 cavalier jersey in a distant 2-spot). You can read the whole article here.

to me and Mr. Wojnarowski, it doesn't matter if Lebron's global brand skyrockets next season. doesn't matter if he tops the jersey sales list, or if he's legacy gets closer to that of Jordan, Bryant, Russel or Erving.

because ultimately, basketball legacies are measured in
"one indisputable and defining way: before he beats him on the NBA Store, Lebron James needs to beat Kobe Bryant in the NBA Finals."