After 22 years, the home of the Los Angeles Lakers and the Los Angeles Clippers, the Staples Center, will undergo a name change. The historic venue will now be known as Crypto.com Arena starting Christmas Day. However, Staples Center has long been known as “The House That Kobe Built.”
Vanessa Bryant, the Lakers legend's widow, reacted to the news with that exact message on Tuesday night:
Vanessa Bryant on the Staples Center's name change đź’› pic.twitter.com/FA8qjaSy2m
— The Crossover (@TheCrossover) November 17, 2021
She's not wrong. Bryant played his entire 20-year NBA career with the Lakers from 1996 to 2016 and won five titles during that span. He is the one who made the Staples Center what it is today.
The Anschutz Entertainment Group, which owns the arena, struck a $700 million deal for the rename with the cryptocurrency website. It's the largest naming rights deal ever. Although there were lots of good memories under the historic name, they're evidently heading into a new era.
But hey, at least the Lakers were generous enough to wait until Christmas to make the official move. Nonetheless, as Vanessa Bryant said, it will always be known as “The House That Kobe Built,” and that game where he dropped 81 points on the Toronto Raptors will go down in history forever.
RIP, Black Mamba. You're deeply missed each and every single day.
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