A former NBA player has claimed that LeBron James began setting his sights on surpassing and even eclipsing Michael Jordan as early as 2005, stating that “The King” was bold enough to make this declaration in the presence of veteran NBA players.
Rashad McCants, who played four seasons in the NBA, shared on Gil’s Arena a story about a young LeBron James aiming to outshine Michael Jordan’s iconic #23 with his own #23.
According to McCants, this occurred after the 2005 season, though he didn’t specify whether it was following the 2004-05 season when the Cavaliers ended with a 42-40 record or after the 2005-06 season when the team improved to 50-32 and reached the Eastern Conference semifinals.
“A bunch of motherf***ers were at the table, and Bron just happened to say some s**t randomly: ‘I’m trying to make that other number 23 disappear,’” McCants recounted.
“The guy who told me looked up, glanced at everyone else at the table, and said, ‘Good luck, young fella.’ Now here we are.”
LeBron has donned the No. 23 jersey in 15 of his 21 NBA seasons, and this number will increase to 16 out of 22 when he suits up for the Lakers this season.
He briefly switched to #6 twice—first when he joined the Miami Heat and later with the Lakers—but had to revert to #23 following the league-wide retirement of #6 in honor of Bill Russell.
In over 1,492 career regular-season games, LeBron James has averaged 27.1 points, 7.5 rebounds and 7.4 assists.
In comparison, Michael Jordan averaged 30.1 points, 6.2 rebounds and 5.3 assists across 1,072 career games.
Looking at LeBron James’ longevity
One of LeBron James’ most extraordinary traits is his longevity. Even in his 21st year, he remains a dominant force, averaging 25.7 points, 8.3 assists and 7.3 rebounds with shooting splits of 54.0% from the field, 41.0% from 3-point range and 75.0% from the free throw line in the 2023-24 season.
LeBron James is on the verge of matching Vince Carter’s record as the only player to play 22 seasons in the NBA. In his final season, Carter averaged 5.0 points, 2.1 rebounds and 0.8 assists across 60 games.
In February of last year, LeBron James surpassed Kareem Abdul-Jabbar to become the NBA’s all-time leading scorer. By March this year, he became the first player to reach 40,000 career points.
Speculation about James’ retirement has been swirling since he and the Lakers were swept by the Denver Nuggets in the 2022-23 playoffs.
Despite this, he signed a two-year contract extension with the Lakers before the 2022-23 season, which included a player option for the 2024-25 season.
He has since opted out of that deal and signed a new two-year contract with the Lakers, featuring a player option for the 2025-26 season.
This season, LeBron will have the chance to play alongside his son, Bronny James, a long-time dream he has frequently mentioned.