Kobe switching to #24, Amare to #1 (updated)

[JS]

Que up Bowie...According to reports Kobe is hanging up the number 8 to wear 24.

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=2421874

Bryant will hang up his No. 8 jersey, sources say
By Darren Rovell
ESPN.com

Kobe Bryant's fans might have to buy another jersey next season. That's because multiple sources have told ESPN.com that Bryant will change his number to 24 next season.

Kobe Bryant
Shooting Guard
Los Angeles Lakers

Profile
2006 SEASON STATISTICS
GM PPG RPG APG FG% FT%
80 35.4 5.3 4.5 .450 .850

Bryant began his career at Lower Merion High School in Ardmore, Pa., wearing No. 24. But by 1996 -- the year he led the school to the state championship -- he had switched to No. 33, the number his father Joe "Jelly Bean" Bryant wore in high school.

In order for a player to change jersey numbers at will, he either has to change teams or have the team inform the league of the decision more than six months in advance. Players who stay with the same team must have worn the same number for four seasons or longer. Sources say the Lakers informed the league of Bryant's wish to change his number by this year's March 3 deadline.

Calls placed to Bryant's agent Rob Pelinka and the Lakers were not immediately returned.

Over the past few months, Kobe Bryant's popularity has been on the rise again. His jersey was the fourth-best seller this season, up one spot from last year's position, according to sales at the NBA Store in Manhattan and on NBA.com.

When Bryant came into the league, he couldn't take the No. 33 because it had been retired seven years earlier by the Lakers in honor of Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.

Bryant arrived at the No. 8 for two reasons. It was the number he wore when he was a kid playing in Italy. It also tied into the number he wore at Adidas' ABCD Camp, 143. The numbers add up to 8.

Bryant's switch is the NBA's most significant jersey number change since the 1994-95 season, when Michael Jordan came out of retirement wearing the No. 45 for the final 22 games of the season. Jordan's No. 23 had been retired by the Bulls in his honor. For the next three seasons, Jordan went back to the No. 23.

League veteran Jim Jackson, who signed with the Lakers in March, now wears No. 24.

Six NBA teams have retired the number: the Boston Celtics (Sam Jones), Golden State Warriors (Rick Barry), Houston Rockets (Moses Malone), New York Knicks (Bill Bradley), Philadelphia 76ers (Bobby Jones) and Phoenix Suns (Tom Chambers).

Darren Rovell, who covers sports business for ESPN.com, can be reached at Darren.Rovell@espn3.com.

[BigggChris04]

I like 8 better than 24
...
But If I was him I'd do the same
...
My 1st # was 15 (5th grade baseball) and has changed numerous times, and I'd do the same
...
I got 15 because there was 17 jerseys and the size grew according to number
...
I was a fat ass so I had almost the largest number
...
Sorry for the life story

[Glenn]

It's clearly a tribute to one of the most influential ballers of this era.

[BigggChris04]

^^^lmao!!!

[Fool]

Look at how thin Joe is in that pic.

[Uncle Mxy]

Even in that picture, you can tell that Cleaves can't make a jump shot.

[Kstat]

Every pistons pic 1997-2001 should have a teal warning asterisk in the thread title.

My eyes weren't prepared for that.

[Elektra]

Every pistons pic 1997-2001 should have a teal warning asterisk in the thread title.

My eyes weren't prepared for that.

It was a very dark and confusing time in franchise history.

Goddamn...those things are fucking hideous...

[Black Dynamite]

the gold alternates were nice. though they were only sold, not worn during games.

[Darth Thanatos]

BOOOOOOOO

Now I'll have to wait like six months to buy a Kobe jersey.

And goddamn Glenn put that Mateen shit away.