Retiring #23.

Recently, an idea has been floating around the NBA regarding the retirement of Jordan's number, number 23, as a way to honor him for being the best player the league has ever had. Though this has been done in both baseball and football, in basketball a retired jersey/number is done so through way of individual teams, not by way of the entire organization.

As everyone knows, Jordan's jersey has been long retired for the Chicago Bulls but now some people are starting to believe further action should be taken. Last Thursday, before facing the Miami Heat, Lebron James went on air and expressed his desire to change his number to 6, a number which he wore for the USA Olympic Team, further saying he believes everyone in the NBA currently wearing the number 23 should do as well. Ironically enough (or not, depending on your view of Lebron), Michael Jordan happened to be at that game, seated next to Pat Riley who for a long time now has also wanted to retire Jordan's jersey.

So does Lebron have a point or is he just trying to gain even more fans and supporters? The way I see it, though I do believe Jordan impacted basketball in a way no one else has ever done and will ever do, there are three problems with this plan.

First off, if the NBA decides to let this happen, then what happens to players like Larry Bird and Magic Johnson? Wouldn't a move like this be a slap in the face to them? No one is arguing with the fact that Jordan was one of the greatest basketball players to ever play in the NBA but at the same time, there is no denying that there are others out there who have also left quite a mark on the league and on the game of basketball in general.

Secondly, going off of the first point, if the league does decide to retire Jordan's number, and then subsequently allows the retirement of other past great players, what numbers will be left for the currently players to wear? Though this may be pretty far off into the future, there will come a time when the numbers will hit triple digits, something I consider a bit ridiculous. Could you imagine fitting both a player's last name and a three digit number on a jersey, and still having it look good? I don't think so...

Lastly, though this point has many arguments, what about the players currently wearing 23? Several have been spoken to and have said they would have no problem giving up their numbers for a player as great as Jordan, but a few have hesitated a bit when answering the question, stating that 23 may be important to the league, and to Jordan as well, but that it also has a significance to them personally and giving it up would be like giving up a part of their basketball identity. Currently there are 13 other players in the league wearing the number 23, and although 13 out of the total amount of NBA ballers out there seems like only a mere handful, their wishes and feelings should not be totally ignored. Lebron may be the superstar among them but every player adds to the league in their own way, so disregarding their opinions would be more than a little disrespectful.

In theory, I think the NBA as a league should retire numbers, as many other sports too, but at this point doing so seems like a major headache, filled with problems regarding respect, politics, and so much more. Whether or not the number 23 is retired won't change people's opinions of Jordan and what he has done for the game of basketball so right now, my advice would be to continue only retiring numbers by team and let player's stats speak for themselves.