The City of Los Angeles has declared Aug. 24, 2016 “Kobe Bryant Day” in honor of the recently-retired Lakers guard and will hold a ceremony Wednesday to commemorate his NBA career. The Los Angeles City Council said Monday it wishes to acknowledge Bryant for his philanthropy as well as his basketball accomplishments.
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“Among his astonishing list of accomplishments, Kobe Bryant’s 20-year career with the Los Angeles Lakers ranks him No. 1 all-time for NBA players who played for a single franchise, and ‘Kobe Bryant Day’ is the City of Los Angeles’ way of thanking him for his single-minded dedication to excellence, the fans and the entire City and region of Los Angeles,” council member Jose Huizar said in a statement.
The date was chosen for its combination of both numbers donned by Bryant during his time with the Lakers. He wore a No. 8 jersey until the start of the 2006-07 season, when he switched to No. 24 in honor of the number he used at Lower Merion High School in Philadelphia.
“For 20 years, we were all beneficiaries of Kobe’s incredible talent and legendary work ethic, and on 8-24 we’ll gather to say, ‘Thank you, Mamba,’” Huizar said.
