Anthony Davis reportedly will take LeBron James’ No. 23 with Lakers

After wearing the number for much of his career, LeBron James of the Los Angeles Lakers will reportedly give his jersey No. 23 to former Kentucky Wildcat Anthony Davis, who will be headed to the Lakers in a trade with the New Orleans Pelicans, where he has played since leaving UK.

A story from Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports claims that James hopes to make Anthony “as comfortable as possible,” and that the gesture has been well received.

While it is unclear what number James will wear next season, he did wear No. 6 during his time with the Miami Heat from 2010-2014. He switched numbers the first time due to a short-lived attempt to convince the NBA to retire No. 23 league-wide, in honor of Michael Jordan.

Following his return to the Cleveland Cavaliers for the 2014-15 NBA season, James switched back to his original No. 23 after the number was not retired. James has continued to wear No. 6 during international competition. Lance Stephenson wore No. 6 for the Lakers last season.

Davis wore the number during his one season at UK, in which he won a national title, and in all seven seasons of his career with the Pelicans. Davis wears No. 41 during international competitions.

For fans who have already purchased a No. 23 jersey with James’ name on the back, the move might prove costly. The NBA Store offers jersey insurance, which will replace a recently purchased jersey if a player changes teams, however the website says that players who remain on the same team but change numbers are not covered.

An NBA replica jersey costs between $70 and $150 on the NBA Store website. The lack of jersey insurance coverage will affect a large amount of fans, as the NBA Store lists James’ jersey as the top-selling jersey from October 2018-February 2019, ahead of such stars as Stephen Curry and Kyrie Irving.

Davis’ jersey is not listed among the top 15 best-sellers on the website.

This story was originally published June 27, 2019 at 4:00 PM.