LeBron James apparently got approval for his preferred Los Angeles Lakers jersey number from an unlikely source.
In a post to Instagram this week, retired forward Cedric Ceballos revealed that James called him to ask for his blessing to wear No. 23 with the purple and gold. Ceballos wore No. 23 when he played for the Lakers from 1994 to 1997.
The 48-year-old Ceballos played in the NBA from 1990 to 2001 and is best known for making the All-Star team as a Laker in 1995 and winning the Slam Dunk Contest in 1992. As for the No. 23 jersey, it has since been worn for the Lakers by Mario Bennett (in 1998), Mitch Richmond (2003), Von Wafer (2006), Lou Williams (2016-17), and Gary Payton II (last season).
Demand for James’ new Lakers jersey is already through the stratosphere, and as a self-proclaimed historian of the game, it was definitely a cool gesture for him to touch base with the former Laker great Ceballos.
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