When will the Lakers retire LeBron James’ jersey?

The famous basketball player LeBron James left a significant mark on the Los Angeles Lakers team and the city of Los Angeles, playing there since 2018. The quest for a record 17th championship title was greatly aided by his exceptional performance as the team’s best player. As a gesture of respect in the NBA, his jersey will be retired to honor his significant contributions to the gold and purple.

According to team owner Jeanie Buss, LeBron’s jersey will be retired only after he completes his playing career and gets inducted into the Hall of Fame.

“The standard for having your jersey retired as a Laker is when a player is inducted into the Hall-of-Fame. I have absolutely no doubt that LeBron will make it into the Basketball Hall-of-Fame. When he does so, then we will retire his jersey. Knowing that he will make it into the Basketball Hall-of-Fame, he will have his Lakers jersey retired, no doubt about it.” Buss told Mark Medina of Sportskeeda.

LeBron is currently under contract with the Los Angeles Lakers until the summer of 2024. He can extend his cooperation with the team to the 2024/2025 season, earning him $50 million.

As of December, LeBron will be 39 years old. He led the Lakers to victory in the 2020 season, which was interrupted by the Covid outbreak.

It’s uncertain which number LeBron will retire with. The entire NBA decided to withdraw number six after the passing of Bill Russell, the greatest winner in NBA history. This was also the number LeBron wore while playing for the Lakers, so he switched to wearing the number 23 the following season. He first wore number 23 in the NBA while playing for the Cleveland Cavaliers 2003.

It is certain that when LeBron’s career comes to a close, his jersey will be retired by two additional teams, the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Miami Heat, for whom he was the greatest scorer in the league’s history.