Kobe’s legacy is perpetuated in the NBA with two players bearing his name

Author: Monojit Mandal

The NBA will probably witness a nostalgic return of the nickname “Kobe” on the court. While no one can replace the legendary Kobe Bryant, two youngsters, Kobe Brown and Kobe Bufkin, are making a name for themselves in the NBA Summer League and reviving the spirit of the late Hall of Famer.

Brown is now playing in the Summer League for the Los Angeles Clippers, while Bufkin is in his first season with the Atlanta Hawks. Both players were named after Bryant, who until then was the only representative of the name “Kobe” in the NBA. This is expected to change in the coming months.

As the name Kobe is so unusual, the appearance of these people is even more surprising. According to the Social Security Administration, parents’ propensity to name their children after Kobe Bryant increased between 1998 and 2003, coinciding with Bryant’s first three championship seasons with the Los Angeles Lakers. The name reached its greatest popularity in 2001, when 1,552 male babies applied for Social Security cards with the name Kobe.

Although the name has fallen out of fashion, with only a few hundred babies called Kobe being born each year, 2020 saw a substantial recovery. Bryant, his daughter Gianna and seven other people died in a helicopter crash that year in southern California. In recognition of Bryant’s extraordinary life and career, 1,500 more boys will be named after Kobe in 2020. Despite this increase, the most popular name for newborn boys that year, according to official data, was Liam, which was used almost 20,000 times. Variations such as Kobee and Kobey also occurred, and a few dozen American newborns were given the name Kobe in 2020.

Bryant’s jerseys are still popular with Lakers fans, illustrating the enduring fascination with the franchise. Nike plans to relaunch the Kobe brand this summer, and two editions of the NBA 2K24 video game, “NBA 2K24: Kobe Bryant Edition” and “NBA 2K24: Black Mamba Edition”, feature Bryant on the cover. Bryant was famous for wearing the numbers 24 and 8 during his NBA career, so the connection is obvious. Another tribute will take place at the Basketball World Cup, where Anthony Edwards of the Minnesota Timberwolves will wear the number 10 jersey of the US national basketball team, a tribute to the time Bryant played for the national team.

Despite never having visited Crypto.com Arena, the home of the Clippers and Lakers, Brown and Bufkin offer a new route to continue Kobe Bryant’s incredible legacy. His presence, as well as the resurgence of the term “Kobe”, serves as a painful reminder of the lasting effect and tenacious spirit of the great Lakers player, even three and a half years after his tragic death.

The eternal memory of Kobe Bryant continues to echo through the basketball world, as the NBA Summer League kicks off with guys named Kobe taking the court.