Editor’s note: Get live updates on LeBron James joining the Philadelphia 76ers here.
LeBron James made his final decision on his playing career, announcing he will spend his pre-retirement years with the Philadelphia 76ers, who haven’t won an NBA championship since 1983.
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The only speculation left for the 41-year-old James is what jersey number he will wear. The NBA’s all-time leading scorer has only worn the No. 23 and No. 6 during his entire 23-year career.
At the time of his announcement that he was joining the Sixers, the No. 23 was available, as the player who wore that number last season, guard Tyrese Martin, signed a one-year contract with FC Barcelona. Martin only spent nine games with Philadelphia after signing a two-way contract with the team in February.
LeBron James career jersey number timeline
2003-10: No. 23
After being the No. 1 pick of the 2003 NBA Draft by the Cleveland Cavaliers, James stuck with the No. 23 he had worn during his high school career. He spent eight seasons with the Cavaliers before his first free agent decision.
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2010-14: No. 6
When James made his televised debacle, better known as “The Decision,” he and his cohorts, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh, who were waiting for his talents to come to South Beach, made some bold predictions during their welcome rally. James said they would win “not 4, not 5, not 6” championships during his stint in Miami. But the only six that James would see would be his jersey number. He did win two championships in four seasons before departing.
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LeBron James: See his rise from high school basketball standout to NBA legend
LeBron James, regarded as one of the greatest basketball players of all time, entered the NBA straight out of high school as the number one pick by the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2003. Take a look back at the four-time NBA champ’s career from high school to the Cavaliers, the Miami Heat, back to Cleveland, and most recently with the Los Angeles Lakers.
(Ronald Martinez, Getty Images)
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LeBron James: See his rise from high school basketball standout to NBA legend
LeBron James, regarded as one of the greatest basketball players of all time, entered the NBA straight out of high school as the number one pick by the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2003. Take a look back at the four-time NBA champ’s career from high school to the Cavaliers, the Miami Heat, back to Cleveland, and most recently with the Los Angeles Lakers.
(Ronald Martinez, Getty Images)
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LeBron James: See his rise from high school basketball standout to NBA legend
LeBron James of the Cleveland Cavaliers heads up court agaist the Washington Wizards in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals during the 2006 NBA Playoffs at Quicken Loans Arena on April 22, 2006 in Cleveland, Ohio.
(Gregory Shamus, Getty Images)
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LeBron James: See his rise from high school basketball standout to NBA legend
LeBron James #23 of the Cleveland Cavaliers gets in for a first quarter break away dunk in front of Antonio McDyess #24 of the Detroit Pistons in Game Four of the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals during the 2009 NBA Playoffs at the Palace of Auburn Hills on April 26, 2009.
(Gregory Shamus, Getty Images)
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LeBron James: See his rise from high school basketball standout to NBA legend
LeBron James #23 and Sasha Pavlovic #3 of the Cleveland Cavaliers celebrate after James made the game winning three pointer against the Orlando Magic in Game Two of the Eastern Conference Finals.
(Gregory Shamus, Getty Images)
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LeBron James: See his rise from high school basketball standout to NBA legend
LeBron James and ESPN’s Jim Gray speak at the LeBron James’ announcement of his decision to play for the Miami Heat at the Boys & Girls Club of America on July 8, 2010 in Greenwich, Connecticut.
(Larry Busacca, Getty Images for Estabrook Group)
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LeBron James: See his rise from high school basketball standout to NBA legend
LeBron James #6 of the Miami Heat greets fans as he is introduced during a welcome party at American Airlines Arena on July 9, 2010 in Miami, Florida.
(Doug Benc, Getty Images)
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LeBron James: See his rise from high school basketball standout to NBA legend
Chris Bosh #1, Dwyane Wade #3, and LeBron James #6 of the Miami Heat are introduced to fans during a welcome party at American Airlines Arena on July 9, 2010 in Miami, Florida.
(Doug Benc, Getty Images)
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LeBron James: See his rise from high school basketball standout to NBA legend
LeBron James #6 of the Miami Heat dunks during a game against the Washington Wizards at American Airlines Arena on November 29, 2010 in Miami, Florida.
(Mike Ehrmann, Getty Images)
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LeBron James: See his rise from high school basketball standout to NBA legend
LeBron James #6 of the Miami Heat sits on the court as court attendants mop up liquid agaisnt the Dallas Mavericks in the second half of Game Three of the 2011 NBA Finals at American Airlines Center on June 5, 2011.
(Ronald Martinez, Getty Images)
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LeBron James: See his rise from high school basketball standout to NBA legend
July 17, 2013: LeBron James and Savannah Brinson attend the 2013 ESPY Awards at Nokia Theatre L.A. Live.
(Christopher Polk/ Getty Images for ESPY)
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LeBron James: See his rise from high school basketball standout to NBA legend
Dec. 20, 2013: LeBron James (6) salutes before a game against the Sacramento Kings at American Airlines Arena.
(Steve Mitchell, USA TODAY Sports)
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LeBron James: See his rise from high school basketball standout to NBA legend
Feb 27, 2014: LeBron James (6) puts on his protective mask during the first half against the New York Knicks at American Airlines Arena.
(Steve Mitchell, USA TODAY Sports)
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LeBron James: See his rise from high school basketball standout to NBA legend
June 5, 2014: LeBron James (6) dunks the ball during the first quarter against against the San Antonio Spurs in Game 1 of the 2014 NBA Finals at AT&T Center.
(Soobum Im, USA TODAY Sports)
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LeBron James: See his rise from high school basketball standout to NBA legend
June 15, 2014: San Antonio, TX, USA; LeBron James (6) and Miami Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra react on the sideline during the fourth quarter against the San Antonio Spurs in Game 5 of the 2014 NBA Finals at AT&T Center.
(Bob Donnan, USA TODAY Sports)
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LeBron James: See his rise from high school basketball standout to NBA legend
Sep. 26, 2014: Kevin Love (0), forward LeBron James (23) and guard Kyrie Irving (2) pose for a photo during media day at Cleveland Clinic Courts.
(Ken Blaze, USA TODAY Sports)
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LeBron James: See his rise from high school basketball standout to NBA legend
Oct 30, 2014: Traffic backs up outside of Quicken Loans Arena where a new LeBron James mural was installed.
(David Richard, USA TODAY Sports)
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LeBron James: See his rise from high school basketball standout to NBA legend
Nov 14, 2014: LeBron James (23) dunks the ball against the Boston Celtics during the first half at TD Garden.
(Mark L. Baer, USA TODAY Sports)
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LeBron James: See his rise from high school basketball standout to NBA legend
Dec. 25, 2014: Dwyane Wade sizes up LeBron James during a game at American Airlines Arena.
(Mike Ehrmann, Getty Images)
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LeBron James: See his rise from high school basketball standout to NBA legend
Apr 23, 2015: LeBron James (23) dunks against the Boston Celtics during the second half in Game 3 of the first round of the NBA Playoffs at TD Garden.
(David Butler II, USA TODAY Sports)
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LeBron James: See his rise from high school basketball standout to NBA legend
June 16, 2015: LeBron James (23) walks off the court after losing to the Golden State Warriors in Game 6 of the NBA Finals at Quicken Loans Arena.
(Bob Donnan, USA TODAY Sports)
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LeBron James: See his rise from high school basketball standout to NBA legend
March 10, 2016: LeBron James of the Cleveland Cavaliers jokes with Kobe Bryant of the Los Angeles Lakers during a 120-108 Cavaliers win at Staples Center.
(Harry How, Getty Images)
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LeBron James: See his rise from high school basketball standout to NBA legend
June 8, 2016: LeBron James goes up for a dunk during Game 3 of the NBA Finals against Golden State.
(Pool Photo, USA TODAY Sports)
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LeBron James: See his rise from high school basketball standout to NBA legend
June 19, 2016: LeBron James and Kevin Love celebrate after defeating Golden State in Game 7 of the NBA Finals for the first championship in Cavaliers history.
(Ezra Shaw, Getty Images)
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LeBron James: See his rise from high school basketball standout to NBA legend
June 19, 2016: LeBron James (23) celebrates with Larry O’Brien Championship Trophy after beating the Golden State Warriors in game seven of the NBA Finals at Oracle Arena.
(Gary A. Vasquez, USA TODAY Sports)
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LeBron James: See his rise from high school basketball standout to NBA legend
June 12, 2017: LeBron James goes up for a layup over Kevin Durant during Game 5 of the NBA Finals against Golden State.
(Kyle Terada, USA TODAY Sports)
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LeBron James: See his rise from high school basketball standout to NBA legend
Dec. 17, 2017: LeBron James wears special “Equality” shoes during a win over the Washington Wizards at Capital One Arena in Washington D.C.
(Brad Mills, USA TODAY Sports)
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LeBron James: See his rise from high school basketball standout to NBA legend
Jan. 23, 2018: LeBron James celebrates after scoring his 30,000 career point in a game against the San Antonio Spurs. James is the seventh player in NBA history to reach the 30,000-point milestone.
(Soobum Im, USA TODAY Sports)
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LeBron James: See his rise from high school basketball standout to NBA legend
February 18, 2018: LeBron James celebrates a victory against Team Stephen following the NBA All-Star Game.
(Bob Donnan, USA TODAY Sports)
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LeBron James: See his rise from high school basketball standout to NBA legend
Sept. 24, 2018: LeBron James speaks to media at UCLA Health Training Center before his first season with the Los Angeles Lakers.
(Gary A. Vasquez, USA TODAY Sports)
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LeBron James: See his rise from high school basketball standout to NBA legend
Jan. 25, 2020: James continued him ascent up the career scoring list, passing Lakers legend Kobe Bryant for third place.
(Bill Streicher, USA TODAY Sports)
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LeBron James: See his rise from high school basketball standout to NBA legend
Jan. 25, 2020: After passing Bryant, James even got a standing ovation in Philadelphia, Bryant’s hometown.
(Bill Streicher, USA TODAY Sports)
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LeBron James: See his rise from high school basketball standout to NBA legend
Jan. 31, 2020: LeBron James reacts during the national anthem after a pregame tribute to Kobe Bryant before playing the Portland Trail Blazers at Staples Center.
(Robert Hanashiro, USA TODAY Sports)
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LeBron James: See his rise from high school basketball standout to NBA legend
Oct. 11, 2020: LeBron James smiles while holding the NBA Finals and MVP trophies after Game 6 of the 2020 NBA Finals at AdventHealth Arena. The Los Angeles Lakers won 106-93 to win the series against the Miami Heat.
(Kim Klement, USA TODAY Sports)
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LeBron James: See his rise from high school basketball standout to NBA legend
May 30, 2021: LeBron James (23) dunks for a basket against the Phoenix Suns during the second half in game four of the first round of the 2021 NBA Playoffs at Staples Center.
(Gary A. Vasquez, USA TODAY Sports)
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LeBron James: See his rise from high school basketball standout to NBA legend
Dec. 15, 2021: LeBron James (6) celebrates the win over the Dallas Mavericks during overtime at the American Airlines Center.
(Jerome Miron, USA TODAY Sports)
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LeBron James: See his rise from high school basketball standout to NBA legend
Feb. 7, 2023: LeBron James celebrates with Kareem Abdul-Jabbar after breaking the record for all-time scoring in the NBA against the Oklahoma City Thunder at Crypto.com Arena.
(Gary A. Vasquez, USA TODAY Sports)
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LeBron James: See his rise from high school basketball standout to NBA legend
March 2, 2024 : Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James acknowledges the crowd after scoring his 40,000th career point against the Denver Nuggets at Crypto.com Arena in Denver.
(Jayne Kamin-Oncea, USA TODAY Sports)
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LeBron James: See his rise from high school basketball standout to NBA legend
Oct. 22, 2024: LeBron James #23 and Bronny James #9 of the Los Angeles Lakers on defense during the second quarter against the Minnesota Timberwolves at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles.
(Harry How, Getty Images)
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LeBron James: See his rise from high school basketball standout to NBA legend
April 4, 2025: LeBron James #23 and Luka Doncic #77 of the Los Angeles Lakers shake hands against the New Orleans Pelicans during the second quarter at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles.
(Luke Hales, Getty Images)
2014-21: No. 23
James returned to Cleveland, making his announcement in a first-person essay in Sports Illustrated. James also returned to his familiar No. 23 and made good on coming back home during his second stint there by delivering Cleveland their first NBA championship with an epic Finals comeback against the Golden State Warriors in 2016.
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2021-23: No. 6
James signed a four-year, $153.3 million free agent deal with the Los Angeles Lakers in 2018 and didn’t make the switch back to No. 6 until the 2021 season. That jersey decision was short-lived as he went back to No. 23 in 2023. James did help deliver the Lakers another championship in 2020 during the pandemic bubble playoffs in Florida.
2023-26: No. 23
In the last three seasons, James wore No. 23, as the No. 6 is retired league-wide in honor of Boston Celtics legend Bill Russell.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: What jersey will LeBron James wear with 76ers? King James’ jersey timeline
