Only a season after his retirement from the NBA, Los Angeles Lakers icon Kobe Bryant will have his jersey hanging from the rafters among other franchise greats prior to a measuring stick game against the Golden State Warriors on Dec. 18, according to TMZ Sports.
Bryant is one of the most venerated Lakers players of this generation after playing 20 illustrious seasons and winning five of the 16 titles the franchise now boasts proudly.
TMZ Sports noted the Lakers haven't yet confirmed, but the organization wrote in a letter to season-ticket holders that this Dec. 18 game would feature a “special event.”
Bryant was an All-Star on 18 of his 20 seasons, which were capped off with a memorable 60-point season finale performance against the Utah Jazz in front of his fans at Staples Center. The man known as The Black Mamba was named Finals MVP twice as well the regular season MVP in 2007-08.
Kobe Bryant averaged 25 points per game, tallying 33,643 total points during his long-tenured career, leading the NBA in scoring twice and ranking third all-time in career scoring behind Lakers legend Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and the Jazz's Karl Malone.
One curious aspect to watch out for will be to see which number the Lakers decide to hang, as Bryant wore No. 8 from the start of his rookie season in 1996-97 through 2005-06, later changing to No. 24 for the remaining 11 years of his career.
Bryant will join a select, yet growing group of massive stars in the Staples Center rafters, including Magic Johnson, James Worthy, Wilt Chamberlain, Jerry West, Elgin Baylor, Gail Goodrich, Jamaal Wilkes, Shaquille O'Neal, and Abdul-Jabbar.
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