EL SEGUNDO, Calif. -- Kobe Bryant will have his No. 8 and 24 jersey numbers up in the rafters when the Los Angeles Lakers play Friday at Staples Center, and there will also be a new number on the court honoring him and his family.
Lakers guard Quinn Cook is changing his uniform number from 2 to 28, the team confirmed -- the No. 8 to represent Bryant and the No. 2 to honor his daughter Gianna. The two perished in a helicopter crash Sunday that also killed seven others.
Gianna Bryant, who was 13, wore No. 2 in her youth basketball games and intended to one day play for the University of Connecticut. UConn honored Gianna by placing a No. 2 jersey on its bench this week.
Cook grew up a Lakers fan on the East Coast, taking after his father, the late Ted Cook. He visited the Bryant memorial, set up on the L.A. Live plaza across the street from Staples Center on Monday, while clutching a Bryant jersey in his hands.
The Athletic earlier reported Cook's plans.
Cook is one of several NBA players to request a number change since Bryant's death in order to recognize the Lakers legend. The NBA typically requires a player to notify the league many months in advance of a uniform change but has granted express permission to the flurry of requests that have come through this week, given the circumstances.
