The Los Angeles Lakers unveiled a statue of Kobe Bryant outside the Crypto.com Arena on Thursday.
Vanessa Bryant introduced the statue after short speeches by Derek Fisher, Phil Jackson, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Stu Lantz and Jeanie Buss. The statue is a pose of Bryant walking off the court after scoring 81 points against the Toronto Raptors in 2006. Kobe Bean Bryant is inscribed on the bust and “Black Mamba” is engraved under the stone pedestal.
“Kobe chose the pose you are about to see.” said Vanessa. “So if anyone has any problems, patience.”.
For Kobe. For the die-hard Laker fans. For our family.
Mamba forever. pic.twitter.com/uExf0oEWgY
– Los Angeles Lakers (@Lakers) February 9, 2024
Vanessa stated that three statues will be unveiled in honor of Kobe. In addition to the one depicting him wearing #8, there will be statues with Bryant wearing #24 and one with him and his daughter, Gianna Bryant. The time and location are to be determined.
Kobe joins L.A. sports legends Abdul-Jabbar, West, Magic, Shaquille O’Neal, Oscar De La Hoya, Wayne Gretzky, Luc Robitaille, Chick Hearn and Bob Miller in the Star Plaza. The statue of Bryant, 580 centimeters tall and weighing 180 kilograms, is considerably larger than the others.
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