When Kevin Garnett revealed eye-catching motive behind Kobe Bryant's jersey number change

Kobe Bryant got the ultimate honor from the LA Lakers. He became the first player not to have one but to have jersey numbers retired by the same organization, an honor that was more than deserved. The "Black Mamba" took the league by storm right out of high school, donning the No. 8 jersey. Then, as he became a superstar, he changed his number to 24.

There have been countless theories about why Kobe made that swap, as he was already an established player and didn't change teams. Kevin Garnett, a close friend and another player who came straight out of high school, was confident he had cracked the code. Per Garnett, that was a way to one-up Michael Jordan, who wore No. 23.

Here's what he said on "All the Smoke" in 2023:

“People don’t know what his No. 24 stands for; people don’t understand that was a sign to everybody that he was a step above 23,” Garnett said. “And that was a shot at Mike, like 'ni***, I’m better than you,' and really stood on it.

"And if you look at every goal or record that Michael Jordan has had, Kobe chased it. Mike used to talk that sh*t about 69 and 'you can't do this and that,' but damn, trying to tell you man, go do the science all you young cats out there that love Kobe, go do all the work all the research and science about Kobe, it was all about catching MJ and disappearing MJ, surpassing MJ. That's all 24 was about."

Kobe Bryant once explained his jersey number change

Kobe Bryant, however, had a different explanation. In 2017, he stated that he changed his number because he felt that, as the years went by, he also became a different player from the one he was when he first entered the league:

“When I first came in at 8, is really trying to 'plant your flag' sort of thing,” Kobe said. “I got to prove that I belong here in this league. I've got to prove that I'm one of the best in this league. Then 24 is a growth from that.

"Physical attributes aren't there the way they used to be, but the maturity level is greater. Marriage, kids. Start having a broader perspective, being one of the older guys on the team now, as opposed to being the youngest. Things evolve.”

Truth be told, Kobe could have a case for having a Hall-of-Famer career with both numbers.

He didn't get an opportunity to tie or pass Jordan, which was admittedly his ultimate goal in the league, but he was most definitely the closest thing we ever saw to him.

Moreover, his Mamba Mentality inspired millions of people on and off the court, challenging them to be the best version of themselves every single day. At the end of the day, Bryant went down as one of the greatest players to ever live regardless of the number on his back.