The Los Angeles Lakers plan to retire the jersey numbers of Kobe Bryant on Dec. 18 prior to the game against the Golden State Warriors.
The team will retire both of Bryant’s numbers. Bryant wore both No. 8 and No. 24 during his 20 seasons with the Lakers.
Bryant, an 18-time All-Star who won five NBA titles with the Lakers, retired following the 2015-16 campaign. He wore No. 8 for his first 10 seasons before switching to No. 24.
Bryant scored 33,643 points, third-most in NBA history behind Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Karl Malone.
Bryant will become the 10th Lakers’ player to have his number retired, the others being Wilt Chamberlain (13), Elgin Baylor (22), Gail Goodrich (25), Magic Johnson (32), Abdul-Jabbar (33), Shaquille O’Neal (34), James Worthy (42), Jerry West (44) and Jamaal Wilkes (52).
Former announcer Chick Hearn also has him name in the arena rafters.
Former New York Knicks forward Charles Oakley filed a civil suit related to the February incident with security at Madison Square Garden, ESPN reported.
Oakley’s civil suit names Knicks owner James Dolan, Madison Square Garden Company and MSG Sports & Entertainment and includes several causes of action, including defamation, libel and slander.
The 53-year-old Oakley alleges Dolan, MSG Co. and MSG S&E committed defamation and libel by publicly accusing him of committing assault and stating publicly that he suffers from alcoholism. The civil suit also alleges that the defendants’ statements were slanderous.
Oakley requests an award of damages to be determined at trial by a jury to compensate him for emotional distress and/or mental anguish and reasonable attorneys’ fees and costs.
Oakley was arrested and charged with five misdemeanors — two for assault, two for harassment and one for trespassing — in the altercation in which security physically removed him from the arena at the start of a Feb. 8 game. The incident stemmed from a longstanding dispute Oakley had with Dolan.
The Brooklyn Nets added some toughness to the frontcourt by signing veteran center Tyler Zeller to a multi-year contract. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Zeller, 27, spent the past three seasons with the Boston Celtics and averaged 3.5 points and 2.4 rebounds in 2016-17. In five seasons with the Cleveland Cavaliers and Celtics, Zeller is averaging 7.0 points on 49.9 percent shooting and 4.4 rebounds.
The Detroit Pistons signed guard Dwight Buycks to a two-way contract.
Buycks spent the past two seasons with the Fujian Sturgeons of the Chinese Basketball Association, and averaged over 25 points in each campaign. The Marquette product averaged 4.8 points, 1.8 rebounds and 1.2 assists in 20 career NBA games with the Toronto Raptors and Los Angeles Lakers.
