Caleb McLaughlin Paid Homage to Kobe Bryant with His Jersey Number on 'Stranger Things' Season 4

If you've tuned in to the new season of Stranger Things, then you know Lucas Sinclair is doing big things on the Hawkins High School basketball team. Known for riding the bench all season, Lucas, played by Caleb McLaughlin, came in clutch, hitting a game-winning shot for the Tigers while wearing the number eight basketball jersey. While Lucas is a fictional character on one of the best sci-fi series to hit Netflix, his jersey number was inspired by a basketball icon, IRL. The streaming service shared via Twitter on Monday, May 30, that Caleb intentionally chose the number in honor of late NBA star Kobe Bryant.

"The #8 jersey Lucas wears is a nod to Kobe Bryant's first jersey number," the streamer explained. "@calebmclaughlin is a huge fan and had the idea to pay tribute to Kobe through his character's jersey."

Caleb has had a longtime interest in basketball. He previously played in the 2017 and 2018 NBA All-Star Weekend celebrity games.

On January 26, 2020, Kobe passed away after a helicopter carrying the beloved basketball star, his 13-year-old daughter Gianna, and seven others to a youth basketball tournament crashed in Calabasas, California. The five-time NBA champion played for the Los Angeles Lakers from 1996 until 2016, won the Most Valuable Player award in 2008, and earned a spot on the NBA's All-Star team in 18 of his 20 seasons as a professional baller. Kobe wore the number eight jersey for the first ten years of his career until he switched to number 24.

Netflix premiered Stranger Things season 4 volume one on May 27. The seven-episode installation left many questions to be answered in the next volume, which will be released this July.

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