The legendary basketball player Kobe Bryant is not between us anymore. However his legacy is being carried on throughout the sport and the world. Kobe Bryant’s sudden death took everyone by surprise. People grieved, cried and paid their respects to the legend. Kobe’s demise is the greatest loss for the world. However, to keep Kobe’s spirit, his fellow players never miss a chance to appear in his jersey.
Hence, today we’ll talk about the players who paid tribute to Kobe Bryant with his jersey!
Shareef O’Neal
Shareef O’Neal is a college basketball player, who currently plays for the LSU tigers. Moreover, he is the son of the former professional basketball player Shaquille O’Neal, who himself was a LSU tiger. after his transfer from UCLA to LSU, Shareef found a special way to tribute his father. However, it wasn’t only Shaquille O’Neal he paid respects to, but also the legendary Kobe Bryant.
Shareef O’Neal honored his dad and Kobe with his jersey number this season at LSU 💜
(via @SSJreef) pic.twitter.com/NRfuceSarR
— Sports Illustrated (@SInow) November 25, 2020
Certainly, Shareef will wear the No. 32 jersey at LSU. Moreover, he took to his social media to explain the math behind his jersey number. He stated that it was 8 plus 24. As Bryant wore No. 8 and later switched to No. 24, the sum of those numbers is Shareef’s Jersey.
He also talked about Kobe’s impact in his life. After Kobe’s helicopter crash, Shareef opened up about Kobe’s last text sent to him. He said, “My phone background is just literally that message and I look at it everyday because…it just motivates me.”
Josh Green
Josh Green is an Australian basketball player. He plays for the Dallas Mavericks of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Recently in the 18th overall pick in the 2020 NBA draft, Josh Green was picked by the Dallas Mavericks. Later when it came to jersey, Josh picked No.8. When asked about it, Green said, “I chose No. 8 because I started playing basketball in my front yard when I was a Little kid always trying to be like Kobe Bryant.”
New beginnings 👀👀 #8 https://t.co/jpcw8THpeF
— Josh Green (@JoshBGreen) November 19, 2020
Josh Green admitted being inspired by Kobe. He revealed that he used to have Kobe’s jersey on all the time. He said, “So for me, I love No. 8. Kobe Bryant started his rookie year off with No. 8, and that’s one of the biggest reasons I play basketball today. So I think it’s cool to be able to wear that number.”
Kobe Bryant in Football field
Kobe’s craze is not just limited to the field of basketball. The professional football players too aren’t behind in paying their tribute to Kobe. Dez Bryant is a professional football player, who plays for the Baltimore Ravens of NFL. In November, Dez Bryant arrived in Kobe Bryant’s jersey for his Ravens debut, to pay his tribute to the legend.
Dez Bryant came thru in the Kobe Bryant jersey for his debut with the Ravens 💜😈
(via @Ravens) pic.twitter.com/KvegwtjKdK
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) November 8, 2020
Another football player Sibusiso Vilakazi changed his jersey number for the 2020-22 Premier Soccer League. Earlier, he wore number eleven since joining. But later he changed his jersey number to 24 in honor of his idol, Kobe Bryant. He said, “I wanted to change before the end of the season and for me, it was to honor my idol, Kobe Bryant. He passed away and I felt like I should use his number and relieve his memories. Even though he did everything on the Basketball court… I want to replicate that on the soccer field.”
