When LeBron James takes the court Monday, in the city where his NBA career began in 2002, his Los Angeles Lakers uniform will look a little different to commemorate the occasion.
James’ jersey will have a patch on the right side of his torso to celebrate his record 23 seasons in the NBA. The patch will feature a silhouette of James’ classic pre-match gesture when he throws chalk in the air. The patch will also have three colored lines to represent each organization he played for – Cleveland, Miami and Los Angeles.
James will wear this patch for each of the final 46 games of the regular season.
After each game played by James, the patch will be removed from his jersey by the Lakers equipment manager, it will be dated and then sent to the Topps company in Dallas, where it will be authenticated and then inserted inside a sports card, ESPN has learned.
Topps, which released its first NBA licensed cards in 16 years last October, included a similar jersey patch on its cards with rookies wearing a “Debut Patch” in their first game.
Last season’s Most Valuable Player Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Defensive Player of the Year Evan Mobley and Rookie of the Year Stephon Castle also wore special patches that were later used for cards.
James is averaging 21.9 points per game along with 6.9 assists and 5.6 rebounds this season. The Lakers are fifth in the West with a 23-13 record.
