No. 8 Won’t Explain No. 24

PHOENIX —  Kobe Bryant appeared to be surprised, if not mildly annoyed, that word leaked out about his planned jersey switch and declined to provide his insights on it until after the Laker season ends.

Bryant, who has worn No. 8 for 10 seasons, was granted approval by the league to wear No. 24 next season but refused to talk about it Wednesday with reporters because “it’s the playoffs, man” he said.

Bryant did smile when asked if he was a fan of Jack Bauer, the character played by Kiefer Sutherland on the Fox TV show “24”.

Bryant wore No. 24 before his senior season at Lower Merion (Pa.) High and switched to No. 33 as a senior. He could not wear No. 33 with the Lakers because it was retired after Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s career ended.

Forward Jim Jackson, signed by the Lakers last month, currently wears No. 24. He said he spoke with Bryant about the possible switch and agreed to give the number up next season if he returns to the team. Jackson, 35, will be an unrestricted free agent.

Players often receive compensation from other players if they agree to give up their jersey numbers.

“I’ll get something out of it,” Jackson said, smiling.

Bryant’s No. 8 is the NBA’s fourth-most popular jersey, according to sales figures released recently by the league. A fan at Wednesday’s playoff game between the Lakers and Phoenix Suns taped “24” over the No. 8 on his Bryant jersey.

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Sun guard Steve Nash was picked as the unofficial most valuable player in a league-sponsored survey of all 30 general managers.

Bryant finished fifth.

The actual MVP award, voted on by media members, will be announced before the end of the conference semifinals, a league spokesman said. A report in Wednesday’s editions of the Arizona Republic said that honor would go to Nash.

Dallas forward Dirk Nowitzki finished second in the general-manager survey, Detroit guard Chauncey Billups was third and Cleveland forward LeBron James was fourth.

Laker Coach Phil Jackson declined to say which player he would have chosen, although he allowed that the MVP should be with an upper-echelon team.

“I really thought Chauncey Billups had a terrific year this year, but I don’t know if I’d vote for him,” Jackson said.

In the survey for defensive player of the year, Bryant tied for fourth with Sacramento forward Ron Artest. Detroit center Ben Wallace, San Antonio forward Bruce Bowen and Utah forward Andrei Kirilenko were the top three vote-getters from the general managers.

Last season, Bryant was not on the NBA all-defensive team for the first time since 1998-99, breaking a string of five appearances on either the first or second team.

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Laker center Chris Mihm was not in uniform for Wednesday’s game because of soreness in his right ankle. He sat out 17 consecutive games because of a severe sprain, played in the Laker regular-season finale, and has now not played the first two playoff games.