SALT LAKE CITY — Utah Royals FC and United States Women’s National Team forward Christen Press will be honoring late Los Angeles Lakers legend Kobe Bryant as she plays for Manchester United Women over the next few months.
Press will wear No. 24 for the club, a departure from her usual No. 23, and in an article Friday by The Equalizer’s Jeff Kassouf (subscription required), she said she chose the number as “a nod” to Bryant, who died alongside eight others in a helicopter crash in January.
The 31-year-old Press was born in Los Angeles and grew up in Palos Verdes Estates, about 45 minutes away.