8
Kobe Bryant wore No. 8 from 1996-97 throuhg the 2005-07 season. He also wore No. 8 in the 2008 Olympics when the U.S. won a gold medal in men’s basketball in China. Bryant began his basketball career wearing first No. 24 and then No. 33 in high school. When he was traded to the Lakers in 1996, neither of those numbers was an option: George McCloud wore No. 24 and No. 33 had been retired in recognition of Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. Bryant picked No. 8, which he wore for the first half of his career. That choice was a tipping of the hat to the number he wore while he lived in Italy as well as 143, from the Adidas ABCD Camp, ESPN reported. The three digits add up to eight.