On Thursday evening, the Los Angeles Lakers unveiled a statue honoring late franchise icon Kobe Bryant, who tragically passed away in a helicopter crash in 2020. The statue depicted Bryant in his number eight jersey, holding one hand up toward the sky, and is located in front of the Lakers' home, the Crypto.com Arena, which was known as the Staples Center when Bryant wowed fans there on a nightly basis.
Throughout his career, Bryant was not only known as an icon in the NBA but also as a champion for women's basketball, helping to provide legitimacy to the WNBA, which was founded the same year Bryant was drafted, 1996.
Recently, WNBA icon Candace Parker spoke on TNT's Inside the NBA on the immense impact that Kobe Bryant made on women's basketball.
“We in the WNBA feel like Kobe was the person that uplifted our league,” said Parker, per NBA on TNT on X, the social media platform formerly referred to as Twitter. “I think just in terms of him having his daughters and really teaching the game, I think that's the biggest thing that I learned from him, is always continue, no matter how many championships you have, how many games you win, to continue to want to learn and get better.”
Bryant's daughter Gianna was also an aspiring basketball player who tragically passed away along with her father in 2020. Although Bryant is no longer here with us, it's good to see his legacy be immortalized in front of the Lakers' home arena.
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