#23 is probably the most sought-after jersey number in NBA history, thanks to two of the greatest players to ever play the game of basketball, Michael Jordan and LeBron James. However, the numbers #8 and #24 rank right after #23 in terms of popularity and demand in the world of basketball. And the credit for that goes to Kobe Bean Bryant, who sits right there with LeBron and MJ in basketball’s Mount Rushmore.
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The new generation of NBA stars aged under 30 didn’t grow up watching Michael Jordan’s Chicago Bulls on their TV sets like some of the veterans in the league, such as LeBron James and Chris Paul did. Instead, they grew up watching Kobe Bryant and the Los Angeles Lakers. And fans were reminded of Kobe’s influence on the younger generation of NBA stars after a Zach LaVine quote resurfaced on X(Twitter) recently.
A Kobe fan account named NBAinthezoneTM‘s recent tweet ended up gaining a lot of traction on NBA Twitter. In the post, the user decided to resurface Zach LaVine’s revelation on why he chose the jersey number #8. “I wear 8 because my idol was Kobe Bryant. Looking up to him, I wanted to do everything he did. I wore no. 14 in high school because of my dad and then got to the NBA and wanted to wear no. 8 because of Kobe,” LaVine’s quote in the post read.
“I wear 8 because my idol was Kobe Bryant. Looking up to him, I wanted to do everything he did. I wore no. 14 in high school because of my dad and then got to the NBA and wanted to wear no. 8 because of Kobe.”
Zach Lavine pic.twitter.com/7pEKt7sxzl
— NBAinthezone™️ (@NBAinthezone) January 2, 2024
It is no secret that several NBA stars of today were Kobe fans growing up. Jayson Tatum is probably the biggest Kobe fan in the NBA right now. Tatum grabbed headlines after revealing that he watched Kobe’s highlight reels prior to beating the Miami Heat in Game 7 of the 2022 Eastern Conference Finals. He also wore a Purple and Gold Kobe armband during Game 7 against the Heat.
“Just to have something to show him in the biggest game of my career so far.”
Jayson Tatum discusses drawing inspiration from Kobe Bryant after winning the first-ever Larry Bird Trophy awarded to the Eastern Conference Finals MVP. pic.twitter.com/EIkMT6zqlD
— NBA (@NBA) May 30, 2022
Devin Booker is another NBA star who has achieved success by adopting Kobe’s mindset and vision in his game. Booker was even touted as the Mamba’s successor in the NBA at one point in time. Both D-Book and Tatum have led their teams to the NBA Finals. However, they would need to really channel their inner Kobe to get their teams over the hump to win an NBA title.
Why did Kobe wear #8 and #24?
Kobe’s #8 and #24 numbers were so iconic that the Los Angeles Lakers decided to retire both of them after the Mamba’s retirement. But why did the five-time NBA Champion wear #8 and #24?
Kobe entered the league wearing #8. Some reports suggested that the Lakers star derived the number after adding the numbers 1, 4, and 3 (1+4+3=8). 143 was reportedly Kobe’s jersey number in an Adidas basketball camp. However, he changed his number to 24 during the 2006-07 season.
According to the Lakers legend himself, the number change signified his maturity and evolution of character. However, Kevin Garnett has famously claimed that Kobe chose the number 24 to one-up himself from Michael Jordan’s famous #23, suggesting that he has surpassed his idol. While there is no way of knowing the truth to that claim after Kobe’s tragic passing, the Mamba’s iconic numbers continue to influence posterity.
