The city of Los Angeles is celebrating Kobe Bryant Day in honor of the late Lakers star Thursday. The day became extra special when Bryant's wife, Vanessa Bryant, announced that the statue of Kobe Bryant outside of Crypto.com Arena will be unveiled in on February 8th, 2024.
ESPN First Take host Stephen A. Smith reacted to the announcement of the statue unveiling for the Lakers Hall of Famer, saying, āHe personified and epitomized everything that the Lakers pride themselves on being about. He most certainly deserves it,ā via First Take.
.@stephenasmith reacts to the Lakers' unveiling a statue to honor Kobe šš pic.twitter.com/bKxVaD4yY4
ā First Take (@FirstTake) August 24, 2023
Vanessa Bryant's announcement of the statue was perfectly timed to come out at 8:24 a.m. on 8/24, representing the two numbers Kobe wore during his 20-year with the Lakers.
During the announcement, Vanessa said, āAs you know, Kobe played his entire 20-year NBA career as a Los Angeles Laker. Since arriving in the city and joining the Lakers organization, he felt at home here playing in the city of angelsā¦We are going to unveil the statue so that his legacy can be celebrated forever. Hope to see you there,ā via the Lakers Twitter page.
The date of the statue reveal ā 2/8/2024 ā also holds significance as not only does it have both of Kobe's numbers, but also their late daughter Gianna's No. 2 jersey number.
Kobe Bryant Day celebrations will also take place in Santa Monica, California when the pier's famous ferris wheel will light up in Lakers colors purple and gold. The celebrations take place one day after what would have been Kobe's 45th birthday.
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