Derek Carr of the Las Vegas Raiders wants to honor the late basketball legend Kobe Bryant in the 2020 NFL season.

Derek Carr, the Las Vegas Raiders’ quarterback, was a great fan of the late basketball legend Kobe Bryant. To honour the long-time Los Angeles Lakers player, the playmaker will wear an arm sleeve, or elbow protector, in the upcoming NFL season, just like Bryant used to.

“This is a very personal thing. I don’t care what others think about it – it’s for me,” Carr said at a Zoom press conference. “I was wondering what would be a cool way to honor Kobe Bryant. He always wore an arm sleeve on his right arm. I can’t do it on my right arm because that’s my throwing arm. So in honor of Kobe, I’m gonna wear one on my left arm.”

"He meant so much to me."@derekcarrqb will wear an arm band this year as a tribute to the late Kobe Bryant. pic.twitter.com/iJKr16LuYs

— Las Vegas Raiders (@Raiders) August 4, 2020

According to Carr, Darius Slay, cornerback of the Philadelphia Eagles, will also pay tribute to Bryant this season. And he expects more NFL players to do the same.

Carr: Bryant “meant so much to me”
“He meant so much to me,” Carr said about Bryant. “And then I met him, talked to him, he followed me on Twitter, too. It was kind of the day of my life.”

When Carr sustained an injury after the 2016 season and his surgery went well, Bryant tweeted him, “Come back better than ever.”

Come back better than ever @derekcarrqb #muse #dominaterecovery https://t.co/AsWubGEfhW

— Kobe Bryant (@kobebryant) December 28, 2016

Carr says he lives according to Bryant’s “mamba mentality” and tries to improve every day: “I now have a big poster in my weight room with the mamba mentality. And this is just one way to honor him. So I’m going to wear the sleeve all year long to commemorate what he meant to me as a child.”

Bryant was killed in a helicopter crash in Calabasas near Los Angeles on January 26. He was only 41 years old.