The Los Angeles Lakers will honor a legend and arguably the greatest player in the team's iconic history. Kobe Bryant will see his No. 8 and No. 24 jersey numbers retired on Mon. Dec. 18 with the five-time NBA champion joining the likes of fellow Lakers legends in Magic Johnson, James Worthy, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, and Shaquille O'Neal in the rafters at the Staples Center.

Another former Laker that may follow Bryant as the next player to get his jersey retired by the team is Pau Gasol. The Spanish center that won two titles alongside Bryant in Los Angeles took to Twitter ahead of Kobe's jersey retirement on Monday to congratulate his close friend and former teammate.

After Shaq was traded to the Miami Heat in 2004, the Lakers went through an extensive rebuilding process with the team deciding to move forward with Bryant as their face of the franchise. Los Angeles went through some rough years with Phil Jackson leaving and eventually coming back while Bryant took his game to another level.

It wasn't until the arrival of Gasol in a blockbuster trade that no one saw coming in 2008 that the Lakers were able to get back on track. The Memphis Grizzlies shipped Gasol to the Los Angeles in a trade package that many perceived to be incredibly lopsided as the team acquired a legitimate All-Star for practically nothing at the time.

Ultimately, the trade to land Gasol was a game changer for the Lakers as it put them right back into title contention in the Western Conference. Bryant and Gasol turned out to be the ideal pair and one of the NBA's best one-two punches as they went on to appear in three NBA Finals winning two out of three.

Gasol, much like Bryant, will likely be Hall of Fame bound once eligible and may see his No. 16 jersey retired by the Lakers at some point in the future.