The No. 24 will never again be worn by a member of the Dallas Mavericks. Mavs owner Mark Cuban announced the organization has decided to retire the No. 24 in honor of the late Kobe Bryant, who tragically passed in a helicopter crash on Sunday morning along with his daughter, Gianna, and seven others:
Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban: "Our organization has decided that the number 24 will never again be worn by a Dallas Maverick.”
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) January 27, 2020
Mavericks team owner Mark Cuban announces that no player in Mavericks history will ever wear No. 24 again in tribute to Kobe Bryant
— Marc Stein (@TheSteinLine) January 27, 2020
Cuban took to Twitter in the wake of the news and encouraged followers and fans alike to cherish moments with family and friends. Cuban also said “It hurts that it takes a tragedy to remind of us of our mortality:”
We can never forget how precious life is. How those who are special to you and never let them forget how deeply you love them
— Mark Cuban (@mcuban) January 26, 2020
To all of my friends, thank you. Each of you have shared part of yourself with me and made my life better. I have tried to do the same. If you were here I would hug you like I just hugged my family. It hurts that it takes a tragedy to remind us of our mortality.#hugyourfriends
— Mark Cuban (@mcuban) January 26, 2020
This is the first move of this nature by any franchise, which is quite the commemoration.
Of course, Cuban got to witness Kobe Bryant's excellence and competitiveness up close as his Mavericks dueled against the Los Angeles Lakers in Western Conference action.
In fact, Cuban tried to make a deal to acquire Bryant when he expressed his displeasure with the Lakers in 2007. Cuban thought he pulled of a deal that would have sent Josh Howard and Jason Terry to L.A. as part of a package for Kobe (via Tim MacMahon of ESPN):
On the final night of Bryant's career, Cuban revealed that he thought he had agreed on a deal with the Los Angeles Lakers in the 2007 offseason, when Bryant had demanded a trade.
“I could have sworn that we had a deal done for Josh Howard and Jet,” said Cuban, referring to Jason Terry.
Cuban's admiration for Bryant extends to the rest of his organization. No Mavericks player will ever don the No. 24 again. What a fitting tribute.
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