Dallas Mavericks News: Mark Cuban and co. decide to retire jersey #24 in honor of Kobe Bryant 

Dallas Mavericks have announced that they have decided to retire the number 24 jersey in the honor of Kobe Bryant who passed away in a helicopter crash on Sunday. Mark Cuban said in a statement, "Kobe’s legacy transcends basketball, and our organization has decided that the number 24 will never again be worn by a Dallas Maverick."

Dallas Mavericks Owner Mark Cuban issued the following statement on the passing of Kobe and Gianna Bryant. pic.twitter.com/Ua41YrvTMZ

— Mavs PR (@MavsPR) January 27, 2020

This is the fourth jersey that the Mavericks will retire after Rolando Blackman (22), Derek Harper (12) and Brad Davis (15).

Kobe was among the nine people who were killed in the helicopter crash near Calabasas, California on Sunday morning. His daughter Gianna was also among the victims in the crash. They were headed to her basketball game when the chopper went down.

Kobe Bryant's hall of fame career

Kobe who had an illustrious career retired in 2016 as a five-time NBA champion, 11-time All-NBA first-team selection, 2008 MVP, two-time Finals MVP, 18-time All-Star and four-time All-Star MVP. He spent the entirety of his 20-year career with the Los Angeles Lakers. He also bagged gold medals with USA Basketball at the 2008 Beijing Olympics and 2012 London Olympics.

Tributes have been pouring throughout the day. The Phoenix Suns and the Memphis Grizzlies paid tribute to the Laker legend by committing an eight-second and 24-second shot-clock violation respectively. Kobe's name was echoing in the stands. The New Orleans Pelicans and the Boston Celtics followed in their game with a similar 24-second shot-clock violations.