Always wondered… just never asked.
Anyone know?
So everyone who already owned a Bryant jersey would go out and buy another one? That’s always my cynical first thought. I said the same thing when Jordan did it.
According to Wikipedia, he wore 24 and 33 in high school and 24 was the number he always wanted - of course for L.A., 33 is not available. And George McCloud already had 24 during Bryant’s rookie season, so that was out. He picked a number based on a jersey he wore at one of the big basketball camps. I always thought the change was a mistake. 8 struck me as a more distinctive number than 24 and 8 was really not associated with any other player.