Lakers honor Kobe Bryant with statue outside Crypto.com Arena

The Los Angeles Lakers unveiled a statue honoring Kobe Bryant outside Crypto.com Arena in a ceremony Thursday. The bronze statue is 19 feet tall and weighs 4,000 pounds.

Bryant is the seventh Lakers legend commemorated with a statue at Star Plaza, joining Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Elgin Baylor, broadcaster Chick Hearn, Magic Johnson, Shaquille O’Neal and Jerry West.

The inauguration date was important to the numerology of Bryant and his 13-year-old daughter, Gianna, who died in a tragic helicopter crash in Calabasas, California, on January 1. February 26, 2020. Thursday is February. February 8, 2024 – 8/2/24: A date that combines Bryant’s jersey numbers (No. 8 and No. 24) and Gianna’s number (No. 2) when he played on the Mamba Sports team Academy.

Until the unveiling, the pose of the Bryant statue had been one of the NBA’s best-kept secrets. The pose captures Bryant’s 81-point game against the Toronto Raptors on January 1. October 22, 2006, with his right arm in the air and his index finger pointing at the fans. The sculpture is surrounded by five championship trophies, representing the five Lakers titles in Kobe’s career. The base of the statue is engraved with KOBE BEAN BRYANT “Black Mamba” and includes the score from the 2006 game. The side of the base reads a quote from Kobe that reads: “Leave the game better than you found it. And when the time comes to go, leave a legend.” According to Vanessa Bryant, Bryant’s widow, there will be three statues of Kobe outside Crypto.com Arena: one with the number 8, one with the number 24, and one with Gianna.

Bryant retired in 2016 after 20 seasons with the Lakers. During his Hall of Fame career, he won five championships, two Finals MVPs, one MVP, two Olympic gold medals, made 18 All-Star teams and had 11 All-NBA first team selections. . The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame inducted Bryant on May 15, 2021. He is the first and only Laker to have two jersey numbers retired and hanging from the rafters of the Crypto.com Arena.

There are two more Kobe statues planned: one with the number 24 and another with Gianna. Location and date to be determined.

– Jovan Buha (@jovanbuha) February 9, 2024

Lakers guard Austin Reaves said the lights shining on Bryant’s numbers on the walls inside the Lakers’ practice facility are a constant reminder of Bryant’s greatness and impact.

“I looked up to Kobe as a kid,” Reaves said Monday. “The Lakers were my favorite team, and just being able to wear the same uniform as them and play in the same stadium in Los Angeles is special. It’s something I’ve talked about a lot. Like I said, Kobe was my idol growing up. “I wanted to do everything like him.”

Vanessa Bryant and the Lakers organization collaborated on the design. The sculpture was made by Illinois-based couple Omri Amrany and Julie Rotblatt-Amrany, who created all the statues outside the Crypto.com Arena.

The ceremony was held under a large white tent due to the weather conditions in Los Angeles. It was closed to the public but will open to the general public on Friday at 10am PST.

The Lakers host the defending champion Denver Nuggets, who swept Los Angeles in the 2023 Western Conference Finals, on Thursday night in what is one of the busiest days on the NBA calendar. Thursday also marked the NBA trade deadline, in which the Lakers stayed put, prioritizing their search for a third star through a trade in the summer of 2024.

“He meant a lot to me,” Anthony Davis said Monday of Bryant. “Big brother, mentor, I guess I started my career with him at the Olympics, just being under his protection. Teaching me the game, teaching me about life and everything. It’ll be… a cool moment, obviously seeing that, but reliving it again in a sense, so I don’t know. Emotions will surely be high for me.”

Los Angeles pays tribute to Bryant, whose nickname was “Black Mamba,” by wearing his black and gold snakeskin City Edition “Black Mamba” uniforms against the Nuggets. The Lakers first wore the uniforms during the 2017-18 season, and then again during their 2020 championship in the Orlando Bubble. The most iconic moment with the jerseys occurred against Denver when Anthony Davis hit a game-winning 3-pointer in Game 2 of the 2020 Western Conference Finals.

“It’s the right thing to do,” LeBron James said Monday. “I mean, the guy spent two decades in the organization, won multiple championships and set a precedent for what it means to strive for excellence. …His achievements speak for themselves. Not just his inspiration, but how he inspires from the court, in the community and across the basketball landscape. So I think it is a beautiful moment, not only for him but also for his family.”