The Los Angeles Lakers paid tribute to their late legend Kobe Bryant with a statue in front of the arena where he played nearly all of his career.
Bryant is shown in his number eight jersey, pointing upward, a gesture he popularized in his first decade as a Laker. The statue was unveiled on Thursday night with his family, former teammates, former coach Phil Jackson, NBA head Adam Silver, and many more in attendance.
The bronze statue depicts his final pose after scoring 81 points against the Raptors in 2006, a feat only surpassed by Chamberlain’s 100 points in 1962.
Before unveiling the statue, Vanessa Bryant said that her late husband had picked the design himself, in case anyone had a problem with it.
“For the record, Kobe picked the pose you’re about to see. So if anybody has any issue with it, tough sh**.”
In addition, she announced that two other statues of Kobe would be placed outside the downtown LA arena, home to four professional sports teams: the Lakers and Clippers in the NBA, the Sparks in the WNBA and the Kings in the NHL.
“Because fans all over the world and the city of Angels loved Kobe so much, he will have three statues in front of the arena, also known as The House That Kobe Built…One wearing the number eight, one with our beautiful daughter Gianna, and one wearing the number 24.”
In his 20-year career with the Lakers, Bryant won five titles and amassed 33,643 points, ranking fourth on the NBA’s all-time scoring list. He also earned a spot on the NBA 75th Anniversary Team in 2021 and before that, a posthumous entry into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2020.
The unveiled statue of the late athlete was created by the renowned sculptor Julie Rotblatt Amrany of the Fine Art Studio of Rotblatt Amrany. Kobe’s Lakers jerseys, No. 8 and No. 24, and Gianna’s youth basketball jersey, No. 2, make the unveiling date of 2/8/24 meaningful.
“Kobe Bryant was one of the most extraordinary athletes of all time, and one of the most iconic individuals in the history of Los Angeles,” Jeanie Buss, the Lakers governor who was also in attendance, said in a statement.
A helicopter crash in 2020 claimed the lives of Kobe, his daughter Gianna and seven others. The statue is the first in a series of physical tributes to honor his legacy.
He now stands with Elgin Baylor, Shaquille O’Neal, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Magic Johnson, Jerry West and Chick Hearn as Lakers with statues outside the arena.
As of the time of writing, the other 2 statues of Kobe Bryant are still yet to be revealed to the general public.
