LeBron James will lead the Tune Squad in Space Jam 2, but rather than wearing his L.A. Lakers number 23 on his jersey, he's gone back to his old number, 6, which helps distance the movie and himself from Michael Jordan and the first Space Jam. The original movie, released in 1996, received mixed reviews but was a major box office success, though Jordan returned to basketball instead of a Space Jam sequel. Now a second movie is finally happening, which will serve as something of a reboot of the franchise, titled Space Jam: A New Legacy.

The film has been in the works for some time, with James announced as its star all the way back in 2014. Various production delays have hit in since then, but Space Jam 2 will finally release on July 16, 2021. Though there's yet to be any footage revealed from the new movie, the new Space Jam 2 jerseys worn by James and his fellow members of the Tune Squad have been revealed. A stark difference from the plain white of the original, the new jerseys are blue with a large version of the Looney Tunes logo wrapped around the side of the top and shorts. It's a design more in keeping with the modern NBA, but that further puts into contrast James' jersey's number, which is 6 rather than 23.

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There are a few possible reasons as to why LeBron James is wearing the #6 jersey in Space Jam 2. Although he wears the number 23 for the Lakers, and did so in both stints for the Cleveland Cavaliers too, the number 6 is still an important number for James - it's the jersey he wore with the Miami Heat, with whom he won two NBA Championships; the one he wore for the USA National Team, winning two Olympic Gold medals; and he still wears the number in practice for the Lakers now. James was still a Heat player when he first signed on for the Space Jam sequel, so wearing number 6 in the movie is also a nice nod back to that era, which remains his most successful as a player.

Space Jam 2 LeBron James New Tune Squad Jersey SR

On top of that, James wearing number 6 also avoids the ghost of Michael Jordan, something he's spent his entire career chasing. The number 23 was the jersey Jordan wore for most of his career, and even though it's since been donned by many others, including James in homage to his idol, it's synonymous with MJ. Given that James in Space Jam 2 is playing for the same team rather than totally different franchise, it's possible that in-universe the number 23 jersey has even been retired in Jordan's honor, much as the Chicago Bulls did with the number, which would mean it wouldn't be available for James when he joins the Tune Squad.

More importantly, though, is that wearing number 23 wouldn't fit with the title of the film. The sequel is called Space Jam: A New Legacy, and simply wearing the same number would feel more like a continuation of Jordan's rather than starting something completely fresh. It wouldn't give off the right signal to simply re-use the number 23 when that was what Jordan wore in the first movie, so it makes sense that LeBron James wears number 6 in Space Jam 2.

Next: Everything We Know About LeBron James' Space Jam 2

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