In the hours after the news broke that Kobe Bryant had tragically passed away in a helicopter crash that claimed the lives of his daughter, Gianna, as well seven others, Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban announced that his team would retire Kobe’s number 24 jersey. The San Antonio Spurs should follow the Mavericks lead and hang Bryant’s number 8 jersey in the rafters of the AT&T Center.
Kobe’s legacy and the peak years of the San Antonio Spurs are intimately intertwined. From 1999 to 2011, the Western Conference was represented in the NBA Finals by just three franchises.