Rui Hachimura is wearing No. 28 with the Los Angeles Lakers — and he’s got a great reason for it.
The forward, who was traded by the Washington Wizards to the Lakers last week for Kendrick Nunn and three second-round picks, told owner Jeannie Buss that he settled on the number to pay tribute to the late Kobe Bryant and his daughter Gianna.
“I ask him, ‘Have you chosen a number yet?'” Jeanie Buss said on the “Know Mercy with Stephen A. Smith” podcast. “And he said, ‘Yeah I’m wearing No. 28. … Because of No. 2 for Gianna and No. 8 for Kobe.'”
Bryant wore No. 8 and No. 24 during his career, while Gianna wore No. 2 while she played at Mamba Academy and for soccer in honor of USWNT and Angel City FC forward Sydney Leroux.
Hachimura is averaging 13.3 PPG in four games with Los Angeles.
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