Lakers News: Matt Barnes Weighs in on Kobe No. 8 vs Kobe No. 24 Debate
Few NBA players boast a career arc quite like the late great Kobe Bryant. The Lakers legend earned his first three championships rings alongside Shaq before his age 24 season. As a 22-year-old, he averaged 29.4 points per game in the playoffs. In those days, Kobe wore number 8 before switching to 24 in 2007. In his new number the Black Mamba evolved from insanely athletic phenom to a complete two-way player. Oh, and he won two more rings and his two NBA Finals MVPs.
Lakers fans love to discuss which version of Kobe, 8 or 24, was the superior players. Matt Barnes, one of Bryant's former teammates, was recently on ESPN's NBA show and provided his take.
"Number 8 gave me a lot of buckets. Number 24 gave me a lot of buckets. I got a chance to play with number 24 and I think what they touched on, 24 to me, although he was always striving be the greatest and continue to win championships, he just seemed like he was at peace. He had been through the wars early on, well documented, and it was finally his team. He was able to win two more championships and two Finals MVPs."
Barnes played with No. 24 Kobe for two seasons (2010-2012) and clearly has an appreciation for both iteration of Bryant.
The veteran, who has been known to drop a hot take or two on his All the Smoke podcast, summed up his perspective of the debate by simply stating that both No. 8 and No. 24 were both special in their own right.
"Each player was very special. You look down the line, both numbers are very similar. It was just an honor to play against number 8 and play with number 24."
It was a classy move by Barnes and although it doesn't end the friendly debate, it's an intriguing perspective from a player who had a front row seat for the bulk of Kobe's storied career.
