Kobe Bryant is 60 or so games away from the end of his NBA playing days.
Since 1996, Los Angeles Lakers guardKobe Bryant has broken many records. On Sunday, Kobe announced his plans to retire and practically broke the internet.
The timing of the announcement shocked many, but the end was inevitable. Kobe is both one of the greatest Lakers of all time and one of the greatest to ever play in the NBA. With his legacy intact and Hall of Fame status a lock, one question remains: should the Lakers retire his No. 8 jersey, his No. 24 jersey or ... both?
When we first met Bryant back in 1996, he was a 17-year-old who was the first guard to forego his college eligibility and enter the NBA draft. There may have been hype surrounding the budding star, but Bryant quickly earned his keep on the court as a key part of the Lakers' three-peat team of the early 2000s. He spent the first nine seasons of his career (1997-2006) in No. 8 and will finish his career as one of five players to play 20 seasons (and the first guard to accom-plish the feat).
Yet if members of the Lakers organization are contemplating which number to retire, the task may be tougher than you think.
| Kobe's career stats (by jersey number) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
If you were to look at the stats amassed by No. 8 and No. 24 without a name attached to them, those would be the accomplishments of a future Hall of Famer. But those stats are, of course, all Bryant's. In fact, there are 28 ex-NBA players in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame who have scored less than 17,000 career including Lakers legend James Worthy (16,320 points) and Celtics great Bill Russell (14,522 points).
The Lakers have nine jersey numbers retired, honoring the likes of Wilt Chamberlain, Jerry West, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Magic Johnson. Therefore, having one number retired as a Laker would be an honor, but two numbers would be an anomaly. And while the greatest-Laker-of-all-time-debate can go on for days, no Laker has played more seasons there than Bryant.
The task of differentiating his stints using career numbers are as tough as defending the guard in his prime. When former Lakers athletic performance coordinator Alex McKechnie was asked about the difference between No. 24 and No. 8, he responded without hesitation "16!"
All jokes aside, the fire inside of Kobe continues to burn bright no matter his jersey num-ber. Whether it was the first two seasons when Kobe started a total of 7 games or him walking the length of the court after tearing his Achilles to sink two free-throws, Kobe always remained Kobe. To one former NBA MVP and past Bryant foil, there's not much different between the two eras.
"Just a number, that's about it," Oklahoma City Thunder star Kevin Durant said. "[He's] still relentless. Still aggressive. Still athletic. He shoots the ball well and overall flawless offensively. Defensively, he brought that intensity and demanded a lot from everybody on the court. You had to up your level of play when you played against the Lakers."
According to Elias Sports, Kobe is the only player to score 40 or more points in a single game against the NBA's 29 other teams. In the No. 8 uniform, Bryant dropped 40 or more points 67 times, something he did 54 times in the No. 24 jersey. Remember Bryant's 81-point game in 2006 -- perhaps the most memorable accomplishment of his career? That happened in the No. 8 jersey.
If you were to look at the stats amassed by No. 8 and No. 24 without a name attached to them, those would be the accomplishments of a future Hall of Famer. But those stats are, of course, all Bryant's. In fact, there are 28 ex-NBA players in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame who have scored less than 17,000 career including Lakers legend James Worthy (16,320 points) and Celtics great Bill Russell (14,522 points).
The Lakers have nine jersey numbers retired, honoring the likes of Wilt Chamberlain, Jerry West, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Magic Johnson. Therefore, having one number retired as a Laker would be an honor, but two numbers would be an anomaly. And while the greatest-Laker-of-all-time-debate can go on for days, no Laker has played more seasons there than Bryant.
The task of differentiating his stints using career numbers are as tough as defending the guard in his prime. When former Lakers athletic performance coordinator Alex McKechnie was asked about the difference between No. 24 and No. 8, he responded without hesitation "16!"
All jokes aside, the fire inside of Kobe continues to burn bright no matter his jersey num-ber. Whether it was the first two seasons when Kobe started a total of 7 games or him walking the length of the court after tearing his Achilles to sink two free-throws, Kobe always remained Kobe. To one former NBA MVP and past Bryant foil, there's not much different between the two eras.
"Just a number, that's about it," Oklahoma City Thunder star Kevin Durant said. "[He's] still relentless. Still aggressive. Still athletic. He shoots the ball well and overall flawless offensively. Defensively, he brought that intensity and demanded a lot from everybody on the court. You had to up your level of play when you played against the Lakers."
According to Elias Sports, Kobe is the only player to score 40 or more points in a single game against the NBA's 29 other teams. In the No. 8 uniform, Bryant dropped 40 or more points 67 times, something he did 54 times in the No. 24 jersey. Remember Bryant's 81-point game in 2006 -- perhaps the most memorable accomplishment of his career? That happened in the No. 8 jersey.
Posts
0 comments:
Post a Comment