There will never be another Kobe Bryant, of course, but for the first time since the Hall of Famer retired in 2016, the NBA is about to have fans watching players named Kobe again.
Kobe Brown and Kobe Bufkin are the names of the players who are entering the league as rookies.
Brown is in the NBA with the Los Angeles Clippers, while Bufkin will play for the Atlanta Hawks. Both were named after Kobe Bryant.
“It means a lot,” Brown said. “There’s definitely a target on my back, I feel like, a lot of guys, when they hear the name Kobe, they think of Kobe Bryant.
“Obviously, I’m not him by any means, but I try to keep that edge and play as hard as I can — just like he did.”
According to the Social Security Administration, there was a six-year stretch — 1998 through 2003 – when one of the most popular baby names was Kobe. The most was in 2001, when 1,552 baby boys had Social Security card applications filed for them with that name.
Two first round picks last night named Kobe.
Kobe Bufkin (Hawks #15) and Kobe Brown (Clippers #30)
Blufkin was born in ‘03, Brown was born ‘00. Part of a string of 4 years when Kobe went from a name outside the top 1000 to under 300 in the US.
Hit that again in ‘20 & ‘21. pic.twitter.com/bqcNDX3beO
— Darren Rovell (@darrenrovell) June 23, 2023
“It’s never affected me too much when it comes to playing ball,” said Bufkin, who was born in 2003. “I try not to think about it as much when I’m actually on the court. But obviously carrying the name comes with a certain work ethic that you’ve got to try to match — and it’s hard as hell to match it. If I get halfway there, I’ll be all right.”
The impressive fact is that the popularity of the Lakers great remains overwhelming 3 1/2 years after his death. Now, Nike is planning to re-relaunch the Kobe brand this summer, and Bryant is the cover athlete for two editions of NBA 2K24 — “NBA 2K24: Kobe Bryant Edition” and “NBA 2K24: Black Mamba Edition,”.
Kobe Bryant has been named the cover athlete for NBA 2K24 🔥 pic.twitter.com/cI8roIG7Xy
— Complex Sports (@ComplexSports) July 6, 2023
For now, Bufkin and Brown seem like locks to be in the NBA when the new season opens this fall. Bufkin was drafted No. 15 overall out of Michigan by the Hawks — and also has a brother named after an NBA player in Isiah Thomas. Brown was selected No. 30 overall out of Missouri by the Clippers.
