It’s very common for NBA legends to have their jersey number retired at their team. They would have given everything to their franchise and the team honors them by retiring their numbers. But what’s even rarer is to have your jersey retired at teams where you haven’t even played at. And that distinction belongs to only two players – Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant.
Michael Jordan played for the majority of his career for the Chicago Bulls while Kobe Bryant played for 20 years for the Los Angeles Lakers. The Bulls retired Jordan’s number 23 after his first retirement before doing it again after he retired again.
Kobe meanwhile had two jersey’s retired at the Lakers. The number 8 which he played the early part of his career and the number 24 for the latter. But both of them had another jersey retirement.
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During Jordan’s final year in the NBA, he was honored by many teams. One of them went to the next level. And that was the Miami Heat who decided to retire number 23 during Jordan’s last visit to Miami. This was unprecedented, as no one had this honor before. And it happened again in 2020 when the Dallas Mavericks retired jersey number 24 in honor of Kobe Bryant, who had passed away a day before.
NBA fans are puzzled at the bizarre jersey retirement of Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant
The NBA fans were left in confusion and amazement when they learned about Kobe and Jordan. While they agreed on the greatness of these two players, having the jersey retired at these teams left them confused. Here are the best reactions:
If The raptors don’t retire bron Jersey it’s a riot 😭
— Loc Sharpe 🗡 (@HoodFavLocc) June 10, 2022
https://twitter.com/buctroll/status/1535080954699558912?s=20&t=9JyU6G8HT43qUp-acgS9JQ
MJ should have his number retired by all teams. If it wasnt for him, the players wont be getting that 8/9 figure check.
— ProudlyDifferent2022 (@PDifferent2022) June 9, 2022
Definitely Toronto to LeBron James
— Rhandoll Alejo (@Rhandoll07) June 9, 2022
Know how much ass kicking and respect has to passed out for this. Tons lol
— The Truth Like #34 #BLM (@TheTruthIsFred) June 9, 2022
Magic, and Bird should really be the only ones, because without them we might not have the NBA
— Anthony Winston (@Tonyww240) June 9, 2022
https://twitter.com/Mizel2k/status/1534929122409029633?s=20&t=9JyU6G8HT43qUp-acgS9JQ
Thought that golden state retiring KD’s # was insanity but this is beyond for the Heat and Mavs. Simp city
— Dezharv3y (@Dezharv3y) June 10, 2022
Forget where they rank all time. These 2 players made it a priority to play games even when injured. My dad took me to see MJ and I took my son to see Kobe. I was fortunate to see them 2 play in person. Our hard earned money were respected by these 2.
— Robert ®️ 🤝 🙏 (@prinzmagic) June 9, 2022
In Miami’s case yes. MJ’s still alive and played his whole career in the East where Miami would always be his opponent. Dallas retired 24 after Kobe died, totally different situation
— Ryan Lee (@wildryanoceros) June 10, 2022
Toronto should retire 23 for lebron
— NotM4Nu (@NotM4Nu_) June 9, 2022
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Which other player could have their jerseys retired at other teams?
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While these two may be the only players to have this rare honor right now, this might be the end. There may be a few others who may receive this as well. And one of them is LeBron James. The King has played in this league for 19 years and he shows no signs of slowing down.
When it’s all set and done, the number of records LeBron will own will be incredible. So there is a chance that some team may do that for him as well. He is sure to join Wilt Chamberlain and Pete Maravich as the only players to have their jersey retired at three different teams.
