Joel Embiid's Number Change Was Temporary Tuesday, Zhaire Smith's Wasn't

On Tuesday, Joel Embiid changed his number in order to honor Kobe Bryant on Tuesday. Zhaire Smith, on the other hand, changed his out of respect for the legend.
Joel Embiid's Number Change Was Temporary Tuesday, Zhaire Smith's Wasn't
Joel Embiid's Number Change Was Temporary Tuesday, Zhaire Smith's Wasn't /

Typically, Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid dons the number 21 on game night. On Tuesday, though, that wasn't the case. Before the Sixers' matchup with the Golden State Warriors, every player came out to the shootaround wearing number eight or number twenty-four to honor the lost legend, Kobe Bryant.

Once the game was getting ready to begin, those jerseys came off. Mostly every Sixers player was back to their official jerseys. Joel Embiid and Zhaire Smith, however, had some slight tweaks to their uniforms.

Embiid was rocking number 24, which happened to be Bryant's latest number with the Los Angeles Lakers. Although 24 is actually retired in Philadelphia because of NBA Hall of Famer, Bobby Jones, Embiid received the legend's blessing on Tuesday night.

"Bobby's a legend," Embiid praised after the win over the Warriors. "He's got his number retired, and he's a Hall of Famer. It's always tough to be in that situation [asking for a retired number], but it was incredible. I'm really grateful he let me have this opportunity to wear that number. It's a tough decision, but he was all for it. I'm really thankful."

Jones clearly had no issue with Embiid's request, as he gave the Sixers' star his blessing with ease. As of late, a lot of players have shied away from wearing Bryant's number eight or twenty-four, but Embiid wanted to embrace it, considering how much Kobe meant to him.

"When you look at my story, I started playing the game back in 2010," Embiid explained. "Watching the finals, Lakers versus Celtics, that was the turning point of my life. Just watching Kobe -- after watching, I wanted to be just like him. I wanted to play basketball. I don't think if it wasn't for [Kobe], I wouldn't be here."

While Embiid dropped 24 points wearing the exact number, he will respectfully return to his typical jersey moving forward. However, the second-year guard who did shy away from wearing the number eight on Tuesday night decided he won't be going back to it.

Zhaire Smith admitted he chose the number eight last season for two reasons. One, because his first choice of number two was already retired. And two, because like many players, Smith idolized Kobe Bryant. Now that Bryant is gone, though, Smith will follow suit with a lot of other players in the league and won't wear the number again.

On Tuesday night, Smith was seen wearing number seven. That isn't permanent, though. Initially, he wanted number five, but it wasn't available on Tuesday under such short notice.

For the rest of the season, though, Smith will be able to wear five and plans to keep it. With the way things are going around the NBA, number eight will most likely not be worn by most players on any team for a while -- especially in Philadelphia.

Justin Grasso covers the Philadelphia 76ers for Sports Illustrated. You can follow him on Twitter: @JGrasso_


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Justin Grasso
JUSTIN GRASSO

Title: Credentialed writer/reporter covering the Philadelphia 76ers for Sports Illustrated’s FanNation Email: JustinGrasso32@Gmail.com Location: Philadelphia, PA Expertise: Reporting, insight, and analysis on the Sixers and the NBA  Justin Grasso is a credentialed writer and publisher covering the Philadelphia 76ers for Sports Illustrated’s FanNation.  Grasso got his start in sports media in 2016 with FantasyPros, working the news desk, providing game-by-game player analysis and updates on the Portland Trail Blazers and the Golden State Warriors. By 2017, he joined FanSided’s Philadelphia Eagles site as a staff writer. After spending one season covering the Eagles as a staff writer, Grasso was promoted to become the site’s Co-Editor. For the next two NFL seasons, he covered the Eagles closely before broadening his NFL coverage. For a brief stint, Grasso covered the NFL on a national basis after joining Heavy.com as an NFL news desk writer. In 2019, Grasso joined the 76ers' beat on a part-time basis, stepping into a role with South Jersey’s 97.3 ESPN. Ahead of the 2019-2020 NBA season, he concluded a three-year stint covering the Eagles and joined the Sixers beat full-time. Grasso has covered the 76ers exclusively since then for Sports Illustrated. He is a member of the Pro Basketball Writer’s Association.  Twitter: @JGrasso_ Instagram: @JGrassoNBA