LeBron James considered wearing No. 32 next season for Cavaliers

LeBron James asked his Instagram followers on Friday a simple question: “6 or 23?”

Obviously, LeBron is referring to which jersey number he will wear next season as a member of the Cleveland Cavaliers. LeBron wore the No. 23 while on the Cavs from 2003-2010, before switching to No. 6 for the last four years with the Miami Heat.

However, according to ESPN’s Darren Rovell, James wasn’t always deciding solely between those two numbers.

Rovell writes:

"Sources have told ESPN that James was also considering No. 32, which he wore his freshman year of high school when 23 wasn’t available."

While it might just be a jersey number, there are financial ramifications to James’ decision. If LeBron goes back to No. 23, there’s clearly less of an incentive for Cleveland fans to buy a new jersey when many of them already own a No. 23 LeBron Cavs jersey. LeBron might stand to make more money choosing No. 6, or even No. 32.

Considering the cost of a LeBron jersey and simply how many he typically sells, James’ choice here is a big deal.

"James taking his time means that retailers have to wait on all the orders they’ve received since last Saturday, when pre-orders for replica jerseys started at $69.99 each. Since then, theCleveland Cavaliers have offered fans a replica youth jersey ($49), a swingman jersey ($99) and the authentic jersey ($300).James sold the most jerseys of any NBA player in each of the last two seasons. He has been the best-selling jersey for six of the 11 seasons he has played in the league."

It will certainly be interesting to see what LeBron ultimately decides.

He averaged 27.1 points, 6.9 rebounds and 6.4 assists last season with Miami.