Lakers' Quinn Cook Chooses Special New Jersey Number to Honor Both Kobe and Gigi Bryant
By Michael Luciano
The NBA world is still in a state of mourning after the deaths of 41-year-old Los Angeles Lakers immortal Kobe Bryant and his 13-year-old daughter Gianna in a helicopter accident just a few days ago. One of the most common ways that NBA players have chosen to honor Kobe has been to change their jersey number, either for one game like Joel Embiid or, in the case of Brooklyn Nets guard Spencer Dinwiddie, for the entire season.
Lakers guard Quinn Cook, who worshipped Kobe as young Lakers fan, changed his number from No. 2 to No. 28. The new number combines the No. 2, Gianna's preferred number, and No. 8, Kobe's number in the first half of his career.
Lakers guard Quinn Cook is changing his number from No. 2 to No. 28 to honor Gianna Bryant, combining Gigi's No. 2 and Kobe's No. 8, sources tell @TheAthleticNBA @Stadium.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) January 29, 2020
Major credit to Cook for keeping not only Kobe's memory alive, but also that of Gianna, who was taken from us far too soon at 13.
The tributes to Gianna have been just as touching as the Kobe tributes, if not more so. UConn, her favorite women's basketball program, honored her with a custom No. 2 jersey before their exhibition against the US National team.
UConn Women's Basketball team is honoring Gianna Bryant, who wanted to one day play for the team, ahead of their game vs. Team USA.
— FanSided (@FanSided) January 27, 2020
(via @espnW) pic.twitter.com/HkrllJS3BL
The tributes for Kobe are still rolling in across the NBA, but one would be hard pressed to find one more touching than this from an active player, given how he managed to honor both Kobe and Gianna.