KEY POINTS

  • Spencer Dinwiddie will use no. 26 – a combination of his and his son’s birthday
  • Kobe Bryant commended Dinwiddie, saying he’s playing like an All-Star
  • Dallas Mavericks also announced they will not allow anybody to wear no. 24 in the team again

You don’t have to be teammates with the late great Kobe Bryant to honor him and that’s what everybody in the NBA is doing right now to honor the Los Angeles Lakers legend. That explains the impact of how an important figure Kobe is on the NBA and the entire world of sports as a whole.

Reports have surfaced that some players who are wearing either Kobe’s jersey numbers – 8 and 24 – are thinking of switching their jersey numbers to show their respect to the fallen basketball icon and the two of them gladly obliged.

Brooklyn Nets guard Spencer Dinwiddie will be giving up his number 8 jersey number and will be using number 26 per Shams Charania of The Athletic. The 6-foot-5 guard has been using the number 8 in his previous stint with the Detroit Pistons and now with the Nets.

The move was next to the decision of Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban that nobody will wear the number 24 again on his team. Dinwiddie also posted on his social media about the change that he is about to make.

The Los Angeles-born Dinwiddie also explained the selection of his new jersey number – a combination of his son, who was both April 20, and his birthday, April 6.

Playing with numbers, number 26 is also the sum of Kobe’s jersey number (24) and daughter Gianna’s jersey number (2). It also makes sense that Dinwiddie is also 26 years old. It’s just over a month when Kobe talked to Dinwiddie just to compliment his game by saying that he is playing like an All-Star this season when he dropped 39 points against Atlanta Hawks.

Dinwiddie has been averaging career-high in points with 21.2, 6.5 assists, and 3.3 rebounds in all of Brooklyn’s 45 games, making most of the opportunity after Kyrie Irving went down with an injury.

Spencer Dinwiddie
Spencer Dinwiddie of the Brooklyn Nets reacts during the third quarter of the game against the Boston Celtics at Barclays Center on Jan. 14, 2019 in Brooklyn. Sarah Stier/Getty Images