Los Angeles Lakers forward, Ron Artest, will be switching his jersey number from 37 back to 15. Number 15 was his college jersey number while at Saint John’s, as well as his number as a rookie in the NBA with the Chicago Bulls in 1999.
Artest decided to don number 37 for the 2009-10 season to pay homage to Michael Jackson and his Thriller album, which ruled the pop charts for 37 consecutive weeks.
Throughout his NBA career, Artest has made more than a few jersey number changes. From number 15, he switched to Michael Jordan’s number 23 as a member of the Indiana Pacers. He also wore number 91, 93, 96, and went back to number 15 in 2005, which is the same number he wore during the infamous “Malice at the Palace” incident.
In addition to Artest, the newest members of the Lakers will be donning new numbers. Steve Blake will be wearing number 5, Matt Barnes number 9, Theo Ratliff number 50, Derrick Caracter number 58, and Devin Ebanks number 3.
-Info from theexaminer.com