With all the hoopla surrounding Shaq’s jersey retirement last week, fans, as they have a tendency to do, began to look ahead to the future. Who will be the next Laker to have his jersey immortalized in the rafters of Staples Center?
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The obvious answer is Kobe Bryant. I won’t spend the next hour discussing his accolades, and just tell you that the fact it would take an hour to discuss his accolades pretty much sums up how fantastic he’s been as a member of the Lakers.
But here’s the thing – Kobe’s worn two numbers during his time in Los Angeles. For the first half of his career he wore number eight, but switched to 24 before the 2007 season. He won three titles rocking single digits and won two more with 24. So which one will hang in the rafters? Last week we asked fans which number they want to see retired when Kobe hangs up his shorts, and nearly 70% of you said it should be 24.
It seems that Kobe agrees.
Kevin Ding, the tremendous Lakers beat writer for the O.C. Register, shared that Kobe’s decision is already made in his latest column;
When the day comes that Kobe Bryant’s jersey is retired by the Lakers, it will go on the Staples Center wall as No. 24, not No. 8. That’s Bryant’s preference, and so it shall be.
That’s not much of a surprise, really. I’ve said for years that I expect Bryant to select 24 over eight when he gets his threads elevated at Staples. Still, at least the debate will stop now as we have a definitive answer. I guess Laker fans will have to find something else to debate for the time being.
For news more relevant to now, Kobe and the Lakers will be back in action Sunday when they take on the Clippers.
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