LeBron James wears special patch to celebrate his 23rd NBA season
Jan 9, 2026; Los Angeles, California, USA; Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James (23) reacts during the second half at Crypto.com Arena. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images
A symbolic design for a legendary career
LeBron James makes history with a slightly different Los Angeles Lakers jersey to mark his record 23rd NBA season. The 41-year-old superstar now wears a special commemorative patch on the upper right portion of his uniform, the result of a partnership with Topps.
The patch features a particularly symbolic design: a silhouette of James performing his pre-game ritual with chalk powder, accompanied by three colored bands representing the franchises he has played for in Cleveland, Miami and Los Angeles. This collaboration with Topps is part of a broader effort to create unique collectible cards.
James will wear this patch during the remaining 46 games of the regular season. After each game, the Lakers equipment staff will carefully remove the patch from the jersey, date it, then ship it to Topps production facilities in Dallas for authentication before integration into a collectible card.
BREAKING: LeBron James will wear a special-edition 23rd season jersey patch beginning tonight in Sacramento; the city where he began his legendary career in 2003.
The patches will be removed from his jersey after each game, and some will be placed into ultra-rare trading cards. pic.twitter.com/zzOEJyiFUK
— Topps (@Topps) January 12, 2026
Performance still at the top despite age
At 41 years old, LeBron James continues to shine on the court with averages of 21.9 points on 51% shooting, 6.9 assists and 5.6 rebounds per game. The Lakers currently sit in 5th place in the Western Conference with a record of 23 wins and 13 losses.
This initiative is part of Topps‘ expanded program, which relaunched its licensed NBA cards in October after a 16-year absence. The company, owned by Fanatics, already offers « Debut Patch » for rookies during their first game, as well as special gold NBA logos for individual award winners such as MVP, Defensive Player of the Year and Rookie of the Year.
Lakers coach JJ Redick recently discussed James’ debut on October 29, 2003 against Sacramento, where the young phenom compiled 29 points on 12/20 shooting, 9 assists, 6 rebounds and 4 steals. « They were running ‘floppy’ sets for him, which is crazy, » Redick commented. « And I don’t think he’s played in ‘floppy’ in 15 years. »
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