Midway through his career with the Lakers, as Kobe Bryant was trying to reboot his identity, he changed from No. 8 to No. 24.
Now that Kobe has announced his retirement at the end of this season, the Lakers are faced with a question: Which number will the Lakers retire?
Likely No. 24, but the Lakers haven’t made a decision, according to TMZ.
A spokesperson for the team tells TMZ Sports, “We have had a couple very casual and preliminary conversations internally about this over the past few years. But now that Kobe has officially announced a retirement date, I anticipate we will discuss this more formally in the coming weeks and months.”
What ultimately matters most is what Kobe wants, and at least a couple of years ago Kobe said he wanted 24.
If I were going to guess, I would be 24 goes up into the rafters, but the Lakers “unofficially” retire No. 8 — they will not give that number to another player again. But ultimately the decision is Kobe’s.
Next year. For now, they just need more nights from him like Wednesday.