10 Legendary NBA Players whose Jersey Numbers were Retired

#6 Kobe Bryant, No. 8 and No. 24 retired by the Lakers

Kobe Bryant's jersey retirement is perhaps the most special one in NBA history yet

Kobe Bryant's jersey retirement is perhaps the most special one in NBA history yet. It was the only incident to date of a player having two numbers retired by the same team.

In the beginning, Kobe chose the No. 8 by adding the digits of the number he wore in a high school basketball camp (143). With this number on his back, Kobe won three consecutive NBA championships, alongside teammate and future Hall of Famer, Shaquille O'Neal. He also recorded the second best scoring performance in NBA history, with 81 points against Toronto, in January 2006.

Ahead of the 2006-07 NBA season, Bryant decided to change his number from 8 to 24. The latter was Bryant's original number in high school and wasn’t available for him in 1996 when he joined the Lakers. With the new number, Kobe won two additional titles and his first and only MVP award.

Bryant's success with both numbers on his back left the Lakers no choice but to retire both.