The Los Angeles Lakers are retiring both of Kobe Bryant’s numbers on Monday, because why not? It’s kind of a silly concession, but in the Lakers’ defense, having anyone wear #8 or #24 after Bryant just wouldn’t look right, not to mention the numbers almost split his career evenly so picking one is difficult.
The Lakers have a lot planned for Bryant’s jersey retirement, but the ceremony during halftime is only part of the celebration that has been rocking and rolling all week. The Lakers released an extensive Kobe Bryant clothing line at their pro shop earlier this month, and NBA TV broadcasted some of Bryant’s best performances all weekend long. Bryant even had Minnesota Vikings star wideout Stefon Diggs honor him with a touchdown celebration that featured his iconic post-up fadeaway jumper.
We don’t know exactly what kind of surprises the Lakers have in store for Bryant on Monday, but we do know the festivities are going to eat up a lot of TV time. According to The Athletic’s Anthony Slater, the NBA has granted the Lakers an extended halftime.
Halftime for Warriors-Lakers tonight extended from 15 to projected 21 minutes for Kobe Bryant ceremony. High skepticism it'll end in 21.
— Anthony Slater (@anthonyVslater) December 18, 2017
Like Slater notes, your typical NBA halftime clocks in at 15 minutes, give or take a few minutes for generic NBA dilly-dallying. The NBA is giving the Lakers 21 minutes, and we’re with Slater here. If the Lakers need 21 minutes to retire Kobe’s number, we’re skeptical that they won’t go over their allotted time. Clearly, they’re trying to cram a lot in a small window.
The good news is, all those Lakers fans that made Kobe Bryant’s jersey retirement the most expensive NBA ticket since Kobe’s last game might just get their money’s worth.
