Didn't Kobe change his # because of D'antoni?

I remember him doing it right after/during that 2006 Suns series and also distinctly remember some color commentator mentioning it had to do with D'antoni. From what i remember hearing Kobe admired D'antoni growing up as a kid in italy but then seeing how he was actually like as the coach of the Suns threw him off so much emotionally that he changed his # to 24 as a kind of screw you to Mike..

sorry if this could fit inside a more appropriate thread but i guess i was just looking for an answer...

is this true?

That was the "public story". I've always thought that it was more of a way to compensate for his endorsements being cut after the Colorado scandal. New number..... new merchandise sales....

mike wore #8 while playing for olimpia milano...the rest i don't know

tryna get that kobe number, one over jordan

Yeah.

Dave McMenamin ‏@mcten
Kobe Bryant started out his NBA career wearing No. 8, inspired by Mike D'Antoni's career in Italy http://assets.espn.go.com/i/eticket/200 ... 14_412.jpg …

Arash Markazi ‏@ArashMarkazi
Mike D'Antoni was the reason Kobe Bryant chose No. 8 at the beginning of his career. http://twitpic.com/bcjkpc

Flea ‏@flea333
enough belly aching. go @lakers !!! d'antoni kobe #8 the italian connection! @SteveNash flowing like a weather system! channel bball godzzz

EDIT: Theories on why he changed it to #24 vary. Rooscooter's is one, there's also the whole "24>23" thing, Kobe's own response (time for a change - something like that; "24/7")

So d'antoni is literally the reason kobe chose the #8 and the reason he decided NOT to wear it?

So how is the d'antoni hire going to work then? I know their now fully grown/responsible adults but that has to be in the back of their mind somewhat.. Artest/Kobe always had heated exchanges in game but that was more a respectful/just part of the game type of situation.. the kobe/d'antoni thing seemed pretty personal back in 06.

hypotenuse wrote:So d'antoni is literally the reason kobe chose the #8 and the reason he decided NOT to wear it?

So how is the d'antoni hire going to work then? I know their now fully grown/responsible adults but that has to be in the back of their mind somewhat.. Artest/Kobe always had heated exchanges in game but that was more a respectful/just part of the game type of situation.. the kobe/d'antoni thing seemed pretty personal back in 06.

i assure you that's in the back of no one's mind lol.

hypotenuse wrote:So d'antoni is literally the reason kobe chose the #8 and the reason he decided NOT to wear it?

So how is the d'antoni hire going to work then? I know their now fully grown/responsible adults but that has to be in the back of their mind somewhat.. Artest/Kobe always had heated exchanges in game but that was more a respectful/just part of the game type of situation.. the kobe/d'antoni thing seemed pretty personal back in 06.

Nobody here is saying he changed to #24 cause he hated D'Antoni, that's bogus, he changed it for marketing, jersey sales, endorsements, etc after the Colorado scandal "a new # equals a fresh new start in my career" in his own words

Interesting, I never knew why he picked #8.

hypotenuse wrote:So d'antoni is literally the reason kobe chose the #8 and the reason he decided NOT to wear it?

So how is the d'antoni hire going to work then? I know their now fully grown/responsible adults but that has to be in the back of their mind somewhat.. Artest/Kobe always had heated exchanges in game but that was more a respectful/just part of the game type of situation.. the kobe/d'antoni thing seemed pretty personal back in 06.

As far as I know, it's never been reported that Kobe stopped liking 'Antoni. Quite the opposite I think Kobe grew up loving him as a player, and gained more respect for him being beaten by his teams in the playoffs and then being coached by him on Team USA. There will be no personal problems between Kobe and 'Antoni, Kobe always speaks highly of him, it's a non issue. Basketball issues between them, that remains to be seen, if we win all will be fine. Kobe changed his number as part of changing his image if I remember right, had nothing to do with Mike, it was all about a new start, beginning a new part of his career, selling more jerseys, and as some analysts liked to say, being one more than Michael Jordan. I remember Kobe gave a statement about it at one point too, something about it signifying the start of the 2nd half of his career, hard work 24/7, 24 hours in a day, 24 seconds on the shot clock, stuff like that.

All this time I thought "8" represented infinity as in Kobe has infinite skillz.

lotus wrote:All this time I thought "8" represented infinity as in Kobe has infinite skillz.

I thought something similar in regards to #8. I sort of thought when he changed to #24, it was him sort of maturing and realizing that his time is not infinite but limited to 24 hours/second on shot clock, etc.

I'm no mathematician but I also always found it interesting that the numbers 2,4,8,and 24 kind of all relate to each other as multiples, dividends, squares, cubes, etc.

I think there is some truth to every theory out there regarding the number change. I see Kobe as a deep thinker and 24 was probably a perfect number for him in more ways than one.

Weezy wrote:

hypotenuse wrote:So d'antoni is literally the reason kobe chose the #8 and the reason he decided NOT to wear it?

So how is the d'antoni hire going to work then? I know their now fully grown/responsible adults but that has to be in the back of their mind somewhat.. Artest/Kobe always had heated exchanges in game but that was more a respectful/just part of the game type of situation.. the kobe/d'antoni thing seemed pretty personal back in 06.

As far as I know, it's never been reported that Kobe stopped liking 'Antoni. Quite the opposite I think Kobe grew up loving him as a player, and gained more respect for him being beaten by his teams in the playoffs and then being coached by him on Team USA. There will be no personal problems between Kobe and 'Antoni, Kobe always speaks highly of him, it's a non issue. Basketball issues between them, that remains to be seen, if we win all will be fine. Kobe changed his number as part of changing his image if I remember right, had nothing to do with Mike, it was all about a new start, beginning a new part of his career, selling more jerseys, and as some analysts liked to say, being one more than Michael Jordan. I remember Kobe gave a statement about it at one point too, something about it signifying the start of the 2nd half of his career, hard work 24/7, 24 hours in a day, 24 seconds on the shot clock, stuff like that.

Ok got it, thanks for clarifying everyone.