Carlton Davis is entering his third season with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and has worn the No. 33 jersey in his first two years. However, following the tragic death of NBA superstar Kobe Bryant, Davis will be changing his jersey number to No. 24 in 2020.
“Kobe was my all-time favorite athlete ever since I was a kid,” Davis said during an online press conference on Wednesday, via AL.com. “I really looked up to him and the way he carried himself as an athlete, the way he approached the game. His Mamba mentality was everything to me, something I adopted from a young age and I’ve always kept it with me. I’m a huge Lakers fan because of him.
When Bryant died, the entire world seemed to stop spinning on its axis. Similar to other people that witnessed the unfortunate news, Davis was a die-hard fan of Bryant. The former second-round pick out of Auburn was heartbroken when he found out his role-model had passed away.
“And just hearing about his death was just heart-breaking. I didn’t know what to think. I just hate to even think about it because it’s just so surreal that he’s really gone. He passed away way too soon. Yeah, I definitely switched my number because of him. He’s always been a guy who I chased after as far as his greatness and what he’s accomplished, so I would like to continue to do that with his number on.”
In 2019, the Buccaneers defensive back was able to record 60 tackles, 19 pass breakups, a forced fumble, and an interception. Despite his formidable season in 2019, Davis hopes to have his best season yet in 2020 in honor of Kobe.
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