Sundowns star honours Kobe Bryant with new squad number
Mamelodi Sundowns midfielder Sibusiso Vilakazi has decided to give up his old no.11 squad number in favour of no.24 in honour of late basketball star Kobe Bryant.
Sibusiso Vilakazi of Mamelodi Sundowns (Photo by Lefty Shivambu/Gallo Images)
The former Los Angeles Lakers basketballer tragically lost his life on January 26 in a helicopter crash, along with nine other people including his 13-year-old daughter Gianna. Bryant donned the no.24 on his back for most of his time at Lakers as he spent his entire professional career with the California-based side, playing as a shooting guard.
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Vilakazi, a huge fan of the late Bryant, will this season don the no.24 on his back when he returns from injury. When he joined Sundowns back in 2016, he was assigned the no.11, which has now been inherited by Kermit Erasmus after he joined Masandawana from Cape Town City.
The opportunity presented itself when Sammy Seabi went out on loan to Swallows FC, vacating the no.24 he used at Sundowns.
“Vilakazi is a huge fan of Kobe and he holds basketball close to his heart. It did not come as a surprise when he opted to take the no.24. If you check his social media, you will see how he adores Bryant, he even changed his Instagram and Twitter handles to ‘valdeziscoming24’, suggesting he is re-launching himself after this injury,” said a source close to the player.
The former Bidvest Wits captain is currently recovering from a ligament tear which he sustained injury in the bio-bubble when the Brazilians lost 1-0 to Baroka FC in August. The 30-year-old is recovering well after undergoing a successful operation towards the end of last month.
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