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23 of the best athletes to wear No. 23

Author

Matthew Sanders

Updated on April 03, 2026

Digits to remember

(Nelson Chenault-USA TODAY Sports)

(Nelson Chenault-USA TODAY Sports)

LeBron James switched back to No. 23 as an homage to the late Bill Russell last year. The NBA retired the number of the late, great Celtic great and James is certainly adding to the list of all-time great athletes to wear No. 23.

Michael Jordan

(USA TODAY Sports)

(USA TODAY Sports)

Jimmy Butler

Jesse Johnson-USA TODAY Sports

Jesse Johnson-USA TODAY Sports

Devin Hester

Scott Kane-USA TODAY Sports

Scott Kane-USA TODAY Sports

Anthony Davis

Derick E. Hingle-USA TODAY Sports

Derick E. Hingle-USA TODAY Sports

Draymond Green

Neville E. Guard-USA TODAY Sports

Neville E. Guard-USA TODAY Sports

Blake Griffin

Tim Fuller-USA TODAY Sports

Tim Fuller-USA TODAY Sports

Ryne Sandberg

Jerry Lai-USA TODAY Sports

Jerry Lai-USA TODAY Sports

Marshawn Lynch

James Lang-USA TODAY Sports

James Lang-USA TODAY Sports

Bobby Bonilla

Bob Gainey

(Photo by Phillip MacCallum/Getty Images)

(Photo by Phillip MacCallum/Getty Images)

Kirk Gibson

USA TODAY Sports

USA TODAY Sports

Don Mattingly

(WILLIAM PERLMAN/THE STAR-LEDGER via USA TODAY Sports)

(WILLIAM PERLMAN/THE STAR-LEDGER via USA TODAY Sports)

Calvin Murphy

Malcolm Emmons-USA TODAY Sports

Malcolm Emmons-USA TODAY Sports

David Beckham

Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports

Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports

Lou Willaims

(Photo by Carmen Mandato/Getty Images)

(Photo by Carmen Mandato/Getty Images)

Christian McCaffrey

Darren Yamashita-USA TODAY Sports

Darren Yamashita-USA TODAY Sports

Arian Foster

Matthew Emmons-USA TODAY Sports

Matthew Emmons-USA TODAY Sports

Paul Lowe

Darryl Norenberg-USA TODAY Sports

Darryl Norenberg-USA TODAY Sports

Ted Simmons

Darryl Norenberg-USA TODAY Sports

Darryl Norenberg-USA TODAY Sports

LeRoy Keyes

Malcolm Emmons-USA TODAY Sports

Malcolm Emmons-USA TODAY Sports

J.R. Smith

(Photo by Brian Bahr/Getty Images)

(Photo by Brian Bahr/Getty Images)

Story originally appeared on List Wire