Originally posted by ekedolphinSo... if Kobe eventually leads the Lakers to more championships, when he retires do you see the Lakers retiring both #8 and #24 in his honor?
The only other guy who has come close in recent years to being the face of the Lakers is Shaq, and I'd still argue that Kobe's more on par with Magic Johnson (in terms of being the franchise player) than him. So if he has a few more seasons like the one he's had this year, and he retires as a Laker, I would think they'd definitely retire both jersey numbers regardless of whether or not they win more championships.
Would that be unprecedented?
(edited by Deputy Marshall on 26.4.06 1002) TO BILL BRASKY!
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I noticed the other day that my boy Luke Schenscher not only found a place in the NBA playing for the Chicago Bulls, but his jersey number is - get this - #45.
That being said, I would think that unless Kobe does something worthwhile with his new jersey number, I think they only retire #8. Jordan wore both #23 and #45 with the Bulls, and apparently #45 has not been retired. Then again, Jordan only wore the 4-5 for a few games. I can only assume that Kobe would be wearing #24 for hundreds of games as a Laker, so maybe my comparison doesn't apply.
(edited by Kawshen on 27.4.06 0954) kedzie.net "Larry Brown is a great coach, but them players... they ain't gettin' it. Mark Jackson used to say the operation was a success but the patient died. The Knicks are DEAD. D-E-E-A-A-D dead." ~ Charles Barkley "Sports are about one thing: players making plays. When you're giving bad players [huge] contracts, you don't know what the hell you're doing."~ Charles Barkley "[Larry Brown being hired to coach the Knicks] is like putting $5,000 rims on a Pontiac Bonneville." ~ Charles Barkley
Wow, I'll tell ya one thing, whether it turns out Nash is officially the MVP or not (and everyone swears up and down that he is), this Suns/Lakers series has just gotten a lot more personal.
I'm sure Kobe's pissed off about it. "35.4 points per game, I lead my team back to the playoffs, I score 81 points in one game-- what the hell do I have to do to win the MVP award?" And maybe if Kobe wasn't such a selfish blowhard, I'd sympathize with his case for MVP. As it is, his behavior has made it impossible for me to root for him.
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