LeBron James chose to wear the No. 23 because of his childhood basketball hero, Michael Jordan. As he nears the end of his 21st NBA season, James and Jordan are in the absolute top tier of NBA greats, but the two don't have the warmest relationship.
LeBron isn't too concerned about it. When asked about it during his lengthy appearance on The Pat McAfee Show Thursday, he said the primary reason the two aren't close is that he's still playing and Jordan is, of course, famously competitive.
"We're in a good spot. We don't talk ... because I'm still playing. I'm still focused on my craft right now...
"I think it's because I'm still playing and M.J., we all know M.J., even if you don't know him personally, he's one of the most ruthless competitors there is. Until I'm done, and he doesn't have to look at me run up and down wearing the No. 23, and every time my name is mentioned it's mentioned with his, he's like, 'I don't want to f------ talk to you.'"
“Me & Michal Jordan are in a good spot..
— Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) March 26, 2025
I hope that we talk more when I’m done playing..
Me & Kobe never had a real relationship until we were at the Olympics together..
We were like family once he retired & I became a Laker..
MJ doesn’t wanna talk to me until I’m done” 😂😂… pic.twitter.com/axbmfJJvQk
James compared the situation to his relationship with fellow Los Angeles Lakers great Kobe Bryant. The two weren't close while LeBron was with the Cleveland Cavaliers and Miami Heat, but their friendship grew while playing together in the Olympics, and really took off after Bryant retired in 2016 and James joined the Lakers in '18.
"The funny thing is, me and Kobe never had a real relationship either, until we was on the Olympic team, we had a great relationship there ... but it was always competitive between us," James said. "...Until I became a Laker and he retired, that's when our relationship became really, really good. He welcomed me, he called me, 'Bro, anything you need in L.A., I got you, you're a Laker now, you're family.'"
James says he hopes and believes he'll have a similar relationship with Jordan after he retires, with the embrace they shared during unveiling of the NBA 75th Anniversary Team at the 2022 All-Star Game in Cleveland serving as a potential preview of things to come.
"That was dope. That's straight respect, admiration and just like, me for sure, I wear 23 because of M.J. and that inspiration that he gave me as a kid in Akron, Ohio that don't have much inspiration in your home town, you look at something. It's gotta be somebody in sports, somebody in music, somebody on the TV screen, so like, Will Smith in Fresh Prince of Bel Air, Michael Jordan playing for the Bulls, Jay-Z, Biggie and Tupac, that was my inspirations."
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as LeBron James Revealed Why He and Michael Jordan Don’t Talk.
