“#8Ball, #RIPKobe”: Jaycee Horn To Honor Los Angeles Lakers Hall of Famer Kobe Bryant By Wearing #8

Jaycee Horn

Jaycee Horn, the Panthers first round draft pick out of South Carolina, has decided to wear #8 as a tribute to NBA legend Kobe Bryant.

Horn is one of several players taking advantage of the NFL’s new jersey number rules, and thus #8 is clearly in the mix for corner backs to wear now.

Horn announced his decision over social media, citing “New Beginnings” as he steps into the NFL world after playing at a high level in college.

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Jaycee Horn Pays Respect To Kobe Bryant, Chooses #8

Jaycee Horn went 8th overall to the Carolina Panthers in the 2021 NFL Draft. By taking Horn, the Panthers showed commitment to Sam Darnold as their franchise quarterback.

After the draft, Horn was asked about what number he would wear, but he didn’t have an answer to that question. During his time at South Carolina, Horn wore two numbers.

He started his college career donning the number 7, but after his teammate, Deebo Samuel was drafted by the San Francisco 49ers, Horn switched over to number 1.

Of course, as we all know Kobe Bryant is well remembered for wearing both number 8 and 24 during his career with the Los Angeles Lakers.

Horn was asked about whether he would wear the #24 or not as well. His response to that:

“It is a great number. It’s definitely in mind.”

However, at the end of the day, it appears that Horn’s brother convinced him to rock a single digit instead. As Horn said,

“I’m going to look at some of those single digits too though, see how those work out. My brother was talking to me about it on the way over here and changed my mind a little bit so we’ll see how it shakes out.”

Clearly, the single digits won out in the end. Regardless of whether Horn wore #8 or #24, his mind was always set on honoring Kobe Bryant.

Also Read: “I thought Carolina was going to draft me”: Philadelphia Eagles WR DeVonta Smith reveals his 2021 NFL draft night expectations

Post Edited By: Ashish Priyadarshi
2021 NFL Draft Carolina Panthers Jaycee Horn Kobe Bryant Los Angeles Lakers NFL

About the author

Ashish Priyadarshi

Ashish Priyadarshi is The SportsRush's content manager and editor. Ashish freelanced for 1 year in the NFL division before taking on an editorial role in the company. He then tacked on managing content while adding on a writing role in the NBA division. Ashish has been closely following the NFL and NBA since the 2012 season when the Patriots lost the Super Bowl and Derrick Rose was at the height of his powers. Since then, Ashish has focused on honing his knowledge for both leagues in, even writing crossover pieces. In his free time, Ashish is an avid basketball player, he loves to watch movies and TV shows, immersing himself in the cinematic world. Ashish studies computer science and data science at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and would love to mesh his love for sports with his technical skills.

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