Five-time NBA champion Kobe Bryant will be honored by the Los Angeles Lakers this week by having both his No. 8 and No. 24 jerseys retired by the team in a ceremony at the Staples Center.

With Bryant getting his jersey numbers retired, a lot of people have come out to show their respect for the Lakers legend in many different ways. One of those people is rap icon, Ice Cube.

Cube recently wrote a piece for The Players' Tribune in which he spoke about Bryant's brilliance throughout his NBA career. The Los Angeles native also mentions a former member of N.W.A., Dr. Dre, as one of two geniuses he's known in his life.

“I’ve known a couple geniuses in my life.

“One of them is Dr. Dre.”

The BIG3 League founder is a die-hard Lakers fan and has followed the team since the days of the Showtime era with Magic Johnson as the face of the franchise. Although he's known a lot of talented and brilliant people over the course of his career in music and entertainment, Bryant sticks out along with Dre.

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“Another guy I put in the genius category is Kobe.”

Cube described what he appreciated about Bryant and most importantly, what he respects about the Lakers legend.

“I appreciate all those things about Kobe. I appreciate that talent and his work ethic. But what I respect Kobe for, out of everything? I respect Kobe for his killer instinct. No one had it like he had it. That’s what makes Kobe genius level.”

On Mon. Dec. 18, Bryant will join Johnson, Shaquille O'Neal, and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar as some of the few Lakers greats to be honored with a retired jersey hanging in the Staples Center. The storied NBA franchise will officially retire Kobe's jersey numbers at halftime of their matchup against the Golden State Warriors.