Did Kobe Bryant go from 8 to 24 to one-up Michael Jordan?

Kevin Garnett talked about why Kobe Bryant changed to No. 24 as a shot to Michael Jordan.

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According to Kevin Garnett, Kobe Bryant switched his jersey number from 8 to 24 to one-up Michael Jordan's 23 which became iconic during MJ's run with the Chicago Bulls.

"People don't even know what the 24 stand for, people don't even understand it that that was a sign to everybody that he was a step above 23... And that was a shot at Mike, straight up like n—--- I'm better than you," Garnett said in an episode of KG Certified on SHOWTIME Basketball. "...it was all about catching MJ and disappearing MJ and surpassing MJ, that's all 24 is about."

Jordan inspired Kobe

In his book The Mamba Mentality: How I Play, Bryant explained how he studied his first games against Jordan and realized that his defense was not good because his balance was off.

"Thankfully, I actually saw this photo back in 1998. After studying it, I corrected my posture and balance. After that, it was a lot harder to operate against me in the post," Bryant wrote.

Bryant never feared Jordan, not even before his first game against him.

"First time I was getting ready to face Jordan. I had a teammate and he goes to me and said, 'Hey, you want some advice? Whatever you do, don't look him [Jordan] in the eye.'"

"Wait, excuse me? Why the hell would I not look him in the eye? I don't think my teammate understood that I'm that too. Can't f****** look me in the eye either buddy," Bryant explained in the Showtime/CBS Sports documentary "Kobe Bryant's Muse" from 2015.

Being fearless

Kobe, like MJ, was fearless regardless of who he had to face. Jordan inspired Bryant to never back down from a challenge, even when the odds were not in his favor. Bryant was always ready to take on his opponents, including his idol Jordan.

It's not hard to see how Jordan's accomplishments influenced Bryant's mentality. MJ played for 11 championships and never lost:

• NCAA Championship: 1-0
• Olympic Gold Medal games: 2-0
• FIBA Gold Medal games: 2-0
• NBA Finals: 6-0

Jordan remains the only player in league history to win NBA MVP, NBA Finals MVP, Defensive Player of the Year and Rookie of the Year awards.