The Lakers Will Retire Both Of Kobe Bryant’s Numbers

Kobe Bryant is one of the greatest players in Lakers franchise history, which is quite the accomplishment considering the list of legends that have put on the purple and gold. When Bryant walked off the court for the final time after putting up 60 points on the Jazz in 2016, there was never a question as to whether his jersey would hang in the rafters of Staples Center, only the matter of when the Lakers wanted to do it.

On Tuesday, we learned the date for that ceremony will reportedly be December 18 ahead of a tilt with the reigning champion Golden State Warriors. The announcement will delight Lakers fans and will also make that game a nearly impossible ticket to get, but there was one significant question remaining.

Which of Kobe’s numbers will be retired? Bryant’s career was split almost in half by his number change, going from 8 to 24, with him winning three titles wearing 8 and two titles and an MVP wearing 24. According to ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne, the Lakers have decided to deal with this issue by simply retiring both.

Details on how they’ll do that (one number on either side of the banner, numbers side by side on a banner, etc.) are unknown. This follows Magic Johnson going on ESPN Radio and reportedly saying the decision on which number would be retired would be determined by a conversation between Bryant and Jeanie Buss.

It’s clear the two decided both numbers should go up and it’s probably the right move, considering no one on the Lakers would want to wear the other one if it weren’t retired anyways. We’ll find out in December how they decide to display both numbers, but you can cross both the Nos. 8 and 24 off the list of prospective jersey numbers for future Lakers.