The Los Angeles Lakers unveiled a statue of Kobe Bryant outside Crypto.com Arena on Thursday.

Vanessa Bryant introduced the statue after brief speeches from 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 written on the bust with, “Black Mamba” etched underneath on the stone pedestal.

“Kobe picked the pose you're about to see,” said Vanessa. “So if anybody has any issue with it, tough shit.”

Vanessa said three statues honoring Kobe will be unveiled. In addition to the one of him wearing No. 8, there will be statues featuring Bryant wearing No. 24 and one with him and his daughter, Gianna Bryant. Time and location are TBD.

Kobe joins fellow Los Angeles sports legends Abdul-Jabbar, West, Magic, Shaquille O'Neal, Oscar De La Hoya, Wayne Gretzky, Luc Robitaille, Chick Hearn and Bob Miller in Star Plaza. Bryant's statue, standing 19 feet high at 4,000 pounds, is considerably larger than the rest.

NBA commissioner Adam Silver, Lakers legends Pau Gasol, Jerry West, and Magic Johnson, current Lakers Austin Reaves and Rui Hachimura, Darvin Ham, and many other notable figures in Lakers lore and basketball luminaries were on hand.

The date, Feb. 8, 2024 — 2/8/24 — was selected to honor the jersey numbers of both Kobe and Gigi.

The public will be able to visit the statue beginning at 10 a.m. PT on Friday.