Steve Kerr Says Warriors Will Watch Lakers Retire Kobe Bryant's Jerseys

Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr said he'll keep the team on the floor during halftime Monday night when the Los Angeles Lakers retire Kobe Bryant's No. 8 and No. 24 jerseys at the Staples Center.

"Just the experience in seeing one of the greatest players in the history of the game getting his jersey retired, and we happen to be there," Kerr said Saturday, per Chris Haynes of ESPN.com. "I'm not going to keep them in the locker room to watch tape of the first half. The players would look at me like I was nuts. There's something interesting going on the floor. Let's go out there."

Several of the Warriors players also spoke about Bryant.

"I do miss that intensity that he brought to the court," Kevin Durant said. "He raised everybody's—opponents, coaching staff, just everybody's—level of play. That's what great players do. You can learn a lot from watching somebody like that."

Nick Young, who played with Bryant for three seasons on the Lakers, asked him to sign his Adidas shoes after Bryant's final game. Bryant, who has a deal with Nike, instead threw the shoes in the trash.

"That's Kobe," Young said, laughing as he told the story. "I knew something like that was going to happen if I went to him with some Adidas. But he did sign some Nikes of mine that I had."

Bryant, 39, spent 20 seasons in the NBA, all with the Lakers. He won five championships and averaged 25 points, 5.2 rebounds and 4.7 assists per game in his career.

He'll be in rarefied air when his numbers are retired, as only Wilt Chamberlain (No. 13), Elgin Baylor (22), Gail Goodrich (25), Magic Johnson (32), Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (33), Shaquille O'Neal (34), James Worthy (42), Jerry West (44) and Jamaal Wilkes (52) have also had their numbers retired by the Lakers.

All of them have been inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. Bryant will assuredly be joining them when he's eligible for enshrinement in four years.