Related News
Home 禄 Sports 禄 Basketball
Lakers to retire Kobe鈥檚 jersey numbers in December
Print Edition
One retired jersey number just isn鈥檛 enough for Kobe Bryant and the Los Angeles Lakers.
The Lakers will retire Bryant鈥檚 No. 8 and No. 24 in a ceremony on December 18 during their game against Golden State, the franchise announced on Tuesday.
Bryant wore No. 8 from 1996 to 2006, when he switched to No. 24 for the remainder of a 20-year career spent entirely with the Lakers. He will be the 10th player honored by the Lakers with a retired number hung high on the Staples Center wall, but the first in National Basketball Association history to have two numbers retired by the same team.
鈥淜obe鈥檚 jerseys are taking their rightful home next to the greatest Lakers of all time,鈥 Lakers owner Jeanie Buss said. 鈥淭here was never any doubt this day would come. The only question was when. Once again, Lakers fans will celebrate our hero, and once again, our foes will envy the legendary Kobe Bryant.鈥
The five-time NBA champion and 18-time All-Star selection is the Lakers鈥 franchise leader in points (33,643), games played (1,346), 3-pointers (1,827), steals (1,944) and free throws (8,378), among countless superlatives.
Bryant is the third-leading scorer in NBA history after becoming the first player to spend at least 20 seasons with one franchise. He retired in 2016 with a bravura 60-point performance in his farewell game against Utah.
鈥淎s a kid growing up in Italy, I always dreamed of my jersey hanging in the Lakers rafters, but I certainly never imagined two of them,鈥 Bryant said in a statement. 鈥淭he Lakers have bestowed a huge honor on me, and I鈥檓 grateful for the fans鈥 enthusiasm around this game.鈥
Bryant scored almost exactly as many points in his No. 8 jersey (16,777) as he did while wearing No. 24 (16,866). He returned to his high school jersey numbers midway through his career in an attempt at a fresh start following allegations of sexual assault leveled against him three years earlier, causing him to lose numerous sponsorship deals even after the case was dropped by Colorado authorities.
The 16-time NBA champions Lakers have only retired the numbers of Hall of Fame players: Wilt Chamberlain (13), Elgin Baylor (22), Gail Goodrich (25), Magic Johnson (32), Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (33), Shaquille O鈥橬eal (34), James Worthy (42), Jerry West (44) and Jamaal Wilkes (52). O鈥橬eal鈥檚 jersey was the most recent to be hung on the wall in 2013.
Bryant is eligible to enter the Hall of Fame in 2021, but the Lakers decided not to wait for that formality to enshrine Kobe in their own exclusive club.
- About Us
- |
- Terms of Use
- |
-
RSS - |
- Privacy Policy
- |
- Contact Us
- |
- Shanghai Call Center: 962288
- |
- Tip-off hotline: 52920043
- 娌狪CP璇侊細娌狪CP澶05050403鍙-1
- |
- 浜掕仈缃戞柊闂讳俊鎭湇鍔¤鍙瘉锛31120180004
- |
- 缃戠粶瑙嗗惉璁稿彲璇侊細0909346
- |
- 骞挎挱鐢佃鑺傜洰鍒朵綔璁稿彲璇侊細娌瓧绗354鍙
- |
- 澧炲肩數淇′笟鍔＄粡钀ヨ鍙瘉锛氭勃B2-20120012
Copyright 漏 1999- Shanghai Daily. All rights reserved.Preferably viewed with Internet Explorer 8 or newer browsers.
