Dodgers Players Wear Kobe Bryant Jerseys to Celebrate 42nd Birthday

The Los Angeles Dodgers did something special for Kobe Bryant’s 42nd birthday. With Bryant dying in a helicopter crash with his daughter Gianna and seven other people back in January, the Dodgers wore Bryant’s Los Angeles Lakers jersey to pay tribute to him. Bryant played in the NBA for 20 years (1996-2016) and spent his entire career with the Lakers.

The Dodgers wore the jerseys before the team took on the Colorado Rockets on Sunday. Along with the jerseys, the team placed No. 8 and No. 24 (Bryant’s numbers) on the mound, and there was a special video that was narrated by Dodgers legendary announcer Vin Scully. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts wore a No. 24 Bryant jersey and explained what Bryant meant to him.

“Tenacity, consistency, winning. Just the [competitiveness],” he said via MLB.com. “Doing things the right way and really looking out and being a servant to so many people in greater Los Angeles.” Dodgers player Enrique Hernandez also talked about Bryant and explained what he meant to everyone.

“We lost Kobe a little too soon,” Hernandez stated. “What he meant to this city and the entire world, to see the impact he had on athletes and non-athletes, that tells you what type of person he was. For us to be able to be part of something like that is very meaningful, and I’m glad we did something really nice and we also were able to win that game for him and it’s something I’ll always remember.”

With Bryant being in L.A. for over 20 years, he became a big Dodgers fan. As mentioned by PEOPLE, Bryant announced the Dodgers’ starting lineup for Game 4 in the 2018 MLB World Series. The Dodgers players appreciated the support from Bryant. Shortly after his death, Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw detailed the impact Bryant made on the city.

“Being here now and playing sports here for the last 12 years, everybody talks about Kobe,” Kershaw said. “That’s like the guy. And so you feel for everybody. You feel impacted even though you didn’t know him just like the millions of people that are watching him playing basketball. To his wife and daughters, I just feel terrible.”