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Is LeBron James the Greatest NBA (Jersey) Star of All Time?
Undoubtedly a legend on court, LeBron James is also making a run for the most coveted jersey among collectors.
T he best part about a GOAT – Greatest of all Time – debate is the debate itself. Do you think Jack Nicklaus or Tiger Woods is the greatest golfer of all time? People who back The Bear point to his unparalleled 18 majors. People who prefer Tiger reference his 82 PGA Tour wins and the way he revolutionized the sport. With the exception of hockey, where absolutely, unquestionably Wayne Gretzky is the greatest player ever to grace the ice, there’s rarely a right answer.
The NBA GOAT debate primarily comes down to a pair of players: Michael Jordan and LeBron James. Jordan fans defend his legacy as the greatest because of his six NBA championships and six Finals MVP Awards in addition to his five NBA MVP Awards. James can’t compete on rings, but his defenders say that the league’s all-time leading scorer changed everything from the way the game is played on the court (with the rise of positionless basketball) to the freedom players now feel in free agency.
And it’s on that last point where another interesting LeBron vs. MJ debate rests. It’s not who is the better player, but who is the bigger jersey star.
Right away, Jordan fans would rightfully point out that not only is Jordan’s No. 23 Bulls jersey perhaps the most iconic jersey in all of sports, not only is it the best-selling NBA jersey of all time, but also: Even LeBron wore No. 23 in honor of MJ at the beginning of his career.
But James has a compelling case of his own. From the very start of his NBA career, James has been a jersey icon. The kid from Akron, OH was drafted by his hometown team, the Cleveland Cavaliers, and saw his No. 23 Cavs jersey became the bestseller in the NBA in his 2003-04 rookie season. His Cavs jersey remained in the top five for the rest through the 2009-10 season.
Then, in 2010-11, James reclaimed the No. 1 spot after taking his talents to South Beach and debuting his No. 6 Miami Heat jersey. In the wake of James’ decision, some Cleveland fans lit his jersey on fire, creating one of the most infamous jersey moments in NBA history. For the next four seasons, as Miami’s Big 3 – James, Dwayne Wade and Chris Bosh – won two championships, James’s jersey again was one of the five best sellers every year.
After accomplishing his goal of getting his first rings, James then made the stunning decision to return to Cleveland and attempt to bring home the city’s first major sports championship since 1964. He also decided to don the No. 23 again.
For the next four seasons, James and Golden State Warriors star Steph Curry battled not only for NBA championships but also for the No. 1 jersey each season. And then after fulfilling his promise to deliver that title to Cleveland, James left once again, this time joining one of the two most iconic franchises in the NBA: The Los Angeles Lakers. And once again, he decided to go with No. 6. In 2018-19, his jersey was once again the NBA’s best-seller, and it stayed there until this past season, when he dropped to No. 3. (He finished behind Curry and newly crowned NBA champion Jayson Tatum of the Boston Celtics.)
This season, James will have the chance for yet another iconic jersey moment. In the second round, the Lakers drafted James’ eldest son, Bronny, which means that the Lakers will have two players with the same last name on the roster. LeBron may very well opt to have the back of his jersey read “James Sr.” while Bronny’s reads “James Jr.” This would undoubtedly boost the sales of his jerseys once again.
To add to all of this, James is also the face of “prep-to-pro” generation of NBA players, which means that he went directly from high school to the pros, with no college stop in between. And as a result, even James’s St. Vincent St. Mary Irish high school jersey is a coveted part of jersey collections across the country.
While Jordan does have the Tar Heels jersey from his time at UNC and a Wizards’ No. 45 jersey from his brief return to the NBA, he didn’t create the same number of iconic jersey moments as LeBron during their respective careers. So what matters more: The single best of all time or a collection of iconic moments along the way? Let the great jersey GOAT debate begin.
