"Lebron No Longer 23"

Lebron, out of showing respect for Micheal Jordan the greatest basketball player of all-time — and/or in an effort to increase merchandising sales, the Cleveland Cavaliers player said he is willing to trade in his #23 uniform in exchange for a #6 "when this Season's done".

LeBron made the comments following Thursday night's win in Miami. Jordan, as you might have guessed, was in attendance to subtly remind the world about his new 25th anniversary sneakers. Do these guys have timing or what?

"I just think what Michael Jordan has done for the game has to be recognized some way soon," James said. "There would be no LeBron James(notes), no Kobe Bryant(notes), no Dwyane Wade(notes) if there wasn't Michael Jordan first.

"He can't get the logo, and if he can't, something has to be done. I feel like no NBA player should wear 23. I'm starting a petition, and I've got to get everyone in the NBA to sign it. Now, if I'm not going to wear No. 23, then nobody else should be able to wear it."

It shouldn't take much for James to convince his peers. With an assist from Basketball-Reference, Tom Ziller at the FanHouse culls the names of players currently wearing No. 23 in the league. The list:

Devin Brown(notes), Marcus Camby(notes), Toney Douglas(notes) (who has the gall to wear it in New York! New York!), Stephen Graham(notes), Kevin Martin(notes), Wes Matthews, Jodie Meeks(notes), Jason Richardson(notes), C.J. Watson(notes), Martell Webster(notes) and Louis Williams(notes).

Stars switching numbers is hardly unprecedented in the NBA. In 2006, Kobe Bryant switched his No. 8 for No. 24 and sold a few zillion jerseys in the process. When Jordan came out of his first retirement, after the Bulls had sent No. 23 to the rafters, he wore No. 45 for 22 games before switching back.

Why No. 6? Well, LeBron has his reasons. The No. 6 was James' Olympic number, Julius Erving, who rocked it, is second-favorite player ever, and LBJ's first child was born on Oct. 6; his second in June (the sixth month).

That's right; LeBron James, numerologist.

Denzel and The NCAA

Court-side, @ the 1st Basketball-Game of the son of Denzel Washington

Denzel Washington, watches University of Pennsylvania play Penn State during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game in State College, Pa., Friday, Nov. 13, 2009. Washington's son Malcolm Washington is a freshman on the University of Pennsylvania team. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)Associated Press

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. - Actor Denzel Washington was playing proud father as he cheered on his son Malcolm's first game with the University of Pennsylvania basketball team.

Washington sat three rows behind Penn's bench Friday night during the Quakers' season opener at Penn State. Wearing a black sweat shirt and black cap pulled down low over his forehead, the Hollywood star went virtually unnoticed in the Jordan Center crowd.

He declined to answer a reporter's question before the game, waving his arms and nodding in the direction of the Penn bench.

The 5-foot-9 Malcolm Washington is a walk-on guard at Penn. He did not play in Penn's 70-55 loss.

Penn's visit to Penn State to start the new season was perfect timing for Washington, who is in central Pennsylvania filming the movie "Unstoppable."

Denzel is a natural himself at basketball, according to his former cast member and NBA League Allstar Ray Allen who donned his 1st and only role with him, and even was getting beat by Denzel a little bit on the court during some of the shooting of Spike Lee's "He Got Game" released in 1998. To see more of Denzel's ball-handling and on court abilities be sure to check out "He Got Game" which Allen is the lead in by the way.

What did you think of Denzel Washington's performance in "He Got Game" ?

What did you think of Ray Allen's performance in "He Got Game" ?