This year, Brooklyn Nets combo guard Spencer Dinwiddie changed his number to honor the late Kobe Bryant. Apparently, his number also matches the amount of debt the U.S. has—in trillions.
The National Basketball Association (NBA) could give an option to players of replacing their last name on the back of their jerseys with a personalized statement about social justice, social cause, or charity messages, as per ESPN.
NBA players around the league had their mixed opinions on whether to play on the restart or not. Some free agents have already signed before the restart while some opted not to play.
Chris Paul of the Oklahoma City Thunder who is also the president of the National Basketball Players Association (NBPA) told ESPN’s The Undefeated last weekend to make this work once the NBA season resumes and it looks like it’s most likely to push through.
The NBA and NBPA are planning to allow players to replace the last name on their jerseys with statement on social justice, sources tell @TheAthleticNBA @Stadium.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) June 28, 2020
The Toronto Raptors have expressed their support in the #BlackLivesMatter movement amid the difficulties in making the restart work for the team. This proposal by the NBPA could encourage more players to support justice.
In fact, one of the players over Twitter hinted at his followers on what he will put on his jersey once the special rule is placed—and it’s Brooklyn Nets guard Spencer Dinwiddie.
Dinwiddie: The number change revolved around family
A report from Clutch Points last January suggested that aside from honoring Kobe Bryant he also picked the number 26 because of his current age, according to Anthony Puccio of NetsDaily.
(1/3): I spoke with @SDinwiddie_25 and he explained why he chose the number 26.
“It’s an obvious choice, I kept coming to that number, but here’s why… They passed on the 26th. 24 and 2 are their numbers; 2+ 6 is 8. I’m 26 currently.”
— Anthony Puccio (@APOOCH) January 28, 2020
Spencer Dinwiddie also shared with Puccio that his number change revolved around his family. He mentioned that he and his son share the same birthday.
To cap off the story, the Nets combo guard also shared about how he decided on wearing the number 8 aside from Kobe, which was also centered on his family.
“When I decided on 8, [I was] the 8th pick in the second round; It’s my grandma and little brothers birthday; I signed with Brooklyn on December 8th…And finally, because of Kobe.” pic.twitter.com/V5UAMEu3fp
— Anthony Puccio (@APOOCH) January 28, 2020
Dinwiddie on throwing shade on American debt
Following the news regarding social justice statements, the Nets guard already hinted a statement that he will put on the back of his jersey in the following tweet.
A lot of issues at the moment. I think the fact that the country is 26 (ironically) Trillion dollars in debt is high on the list
— Spencer Dinwiddie (@SDinwiddie_25) June 29, 2020
The “trillion” that he pointed out was the total debt the U.S. has accumulated since the coronavirus pandemic. Upon checking the data from TreasuryDirect, the U.S. debt has already reached $26.3 trillion [AU$ 38.3 trillion] as of June 25.
With the NBA ramping up their health guidelines to players, some NBA players are excited for the restart despite the risk of the rising coronavirus cases in Florida.
Featured image courtesy of NBA/YouTube Screenshot