Kobe #8 or Kobe #24?

On December 19, 2017, one of most recognized players in NBA retired both of his numbers. He is mostly known as Mamba, his name is Kobe Bryant.

Kobe Bryant who is recognized as a strong player by most in the NBA retired both of his numbers 8 and 24.  When Kobe Bryant was on the Los Angeles Lakers from 1998 to 2016, he had played with two numbers, 8 and 24.

Number 8

Charlotte Hornets drafted Kobe in 1996 but was subsequently traded to the Los Angeles Lakers that same year. His dad played with several teams in his 17 year career. 

Before starting his career in the NBA, Kobe had been to Adidas, Reebok and ABCD camps. At those camps his jersey numbers were one, four and three. The sum of these numbers is eight, which is why he decided to make his first number as an NBA player, eight.

Kobe Bryant was the 13th pick in the 1996 NBA draft. Kobe Bryant was connected to the first overall pick from Georgetown, Allen Iverson, who was drafted to Kobe’s hometown.

Kobe Bryant set a rookie record with 31 points in a game. His record held until 2004 when Lebron James tallied 33 points and Amare Stoudemire had 36. Kobe Bryant won that year’s dunk contest but Allen Iverson was named the MVP. Kobe Bryant was surrounded by many great basketball players as a Laker. These Lakers include Eddie Jones, Nick Van Exel and NBA great Shaquille O’Neal.

When Bryant wore the number 8, he had slowly been forgotten. Kobe wanted to get a fresh start and “hit the reset button”. He wanted to make up his legacy with the number he had wore as a kid, 24.

Kobe Bryant finished multiple years at number 8 with 16,866 points, 3,148 assists, 3,634 rebounds, 514 regular season victories, 5 division titles and 3 championship rings in 707 games.

Philip Borkowski, sophomore at the NYC iSchool, thinks otherwise. He explained that, “Kobe 8 is the best Kobe because while he was wearing that jersey he was a more electrifying player. He won the dunk contest with that number, scored 81 points, and had his best highlights while wearing the No. 8.”

Phillip believes that Kobe’s “prime” was when he wore the No. 8. He had more division titles and championship rings than the No. 24 Kobe.

Number 24

When Kobe changed his number from 8 to 24, he decided to be very discreet about it. Players often change their number when switching teams, however, when one chooses to stay on the same teams and switch numbers, it attracts the eyes of many fans…  There is a strong connection with Kobe Bryant and the number 24. Kobe Bryant played as the number 24 in both middle school and high school.

There are many theories as to why Kobe changed his number such as the Nike theory. The Nike theory is based around the topic that he switched from the Adidas brand to Nike in 2003 with a $40 million contract. The theory is that since he went to Adidas with the No. 8, he thought it would only be appropriate to change his number when he signed a contract with Nike. There is no proof behind their theory, but they decided to release it.

Kobe Bryant was continuously denied the chance to wear the number 24 since he was a rookie. People such as  George McCloud III and Fred Roberts who both carried 24 during their times with the Lakers.. Kobe was able to get the number 24 ten years later.

Mamba, his previous nickname, was officially out of the NBA during the 2015 to 2016 season at the age of 38. Kobe’s decision the path that no one in the NBA had thought he would be able to take.

According to Yahoo Sports, Kobe retired with some astonishing stats. He had 16,717 points, 3,154 assists, 3,409 rebounds, 428 regular season victories, 4 division titles, and 2 championships. He was able to produce these stats in 638 games.

There are many different opinions on which Kobe played better. Was it the rookie number 8 or the veteran number 24?

Michael Shivamber, sophomore at Chelsea Career and Technical high school, thinks that Kobe 24 was better than number 8. He said, “He grew as a player. He matured into a man and learned to not only play basketball at a high standard, but to teach others how to play it as well. He played through injuries and his endurance was outstanding. number 24 was way better than number 8”.

Michael indeed does have a point. As a veteran, Kobe was able to become such a great player that he had left on the Los Angeles court. He was able to grow a player but also grow as a person.

There are many different opinions on which Kobe was able to give fans something to remember. But the real answer is still lying on the court.