Feb. 16, the NBA’s elite will face off during the All-Star Game as part of superstar teams helmed by LeBron James and Giannis Antetokounmpo. The league decided to feature jersey numbers in honor of Kobe Bryant and his daughter Gianna Bryant after their deaths in a helicopter crash. James opted for Gianna’s No. 2 jersey and created an uproar on social media.
“They asked me which number did I want to wear, the 24 or 2 for my team,” James said on Monday. “And I picked 2.” The reason for this decision is that it reminded him of his own daughter, five-year-old Zhuri.
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The league reportedly reached out to the Lakers star last week to loop him into the plan about changing the jersey numbers to honor the victims of the helicopter crash. James is the captain of the NBA All-Star West team, which means that he was given the option to select which number he wanted. The Lakers star opted for the No. 2 jersey instead of 24.
“Great reporting to finally get an acknowledgment that Lebron runs the NBA,” one user wrote on Twitter. It was made clear on Monday that the league came up with the idea to have the jersey numbers honor Bryant and Gianna, but the fans only saw this as confirmation that James “runs” the league.
“Maybe they should run the rest of the rule changes around him,” another user added to the conversation. This was a fairly common response from the NBA fans on Twitter as they voiced their critique of the jersey number selections.
“He was an all star team captain. Who would they run it by instead? Daffy Duck?” one user asked amid a disagreement with their fellow Twitter users. This topic led to multiple arguments on social media as NBA fans voiced their support or critique of James.
While many on Twitter responded to the news about James wearing a No. 2 jersey with frustration, this was not a universal opinion. Several others felt that he was deserving of the honor due to being the captain of the West team, as well as the leading vote-getter. Some simply felt that this was a truly wonderful gesture by the veteran.
“LeBron = my new favorite player ever,” one fan commented on Monday.
Another talked about how this decision by James was making them cry nonstop. The fans felt that this was an incredibly sweet gesture, and it changed some opinions after the news became public knowledge.
(Photo Credit: Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images)
