Kobe Bryant's Lakers Jersey Retirement Date Set

The Los Angeles Lakers will reportedly retire Kobe Bryant's jersey on December 18th, prior to the Lakers' game against the Golden State Warriors, according to a report by TMZ. 

The Lakers have yet to officially announce the plans to retire Kobe's jersey, but a letter to season-ticket holders revealed that the December 18th game against Golden State would feature a "special event." The only question is, which of Kobe's number will they hang from the rafters at Staples Center? Kobe wore #8 from his rookie season in 1996-97 up until 2005-06 before he switched to #24 for the rest of his career. It's entirely possibly the Lakers organization decides to retire both.

The 39-year old, 18-time NBA All-Star retired at the end of the 2015-16 season, wrapping up an illustrious 20-year career - all of which were spent with the Los Angeles Lakers because the Charlotte Hornets traded him on draft night. As many of you remember, in his final game with the Lakers, Kobe dropped 60 points in a 101-96 win over the Utah Jazz.

During his career, the Black Mamba won the NBA title five times and captured two NBA Finals MVPs, as well as the NBA regular season MVP in the 2007-08 season. He boasts career averages of 25 points, 5.2 rebounds and 4.7 assists per game. 

Other Lakers legends to have their jerseys retired include Elgin Baylor, Wilt Chamberlain, Gail Goodrich, Magic Johnson, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Shaquille O'Neal, Jerry West, Jamaal Wilkes and James Worthy.

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