Today, a private ceremony outside Crypto.com Arena unveiled a second statue of the late Los Angeles Lakers star Kobe Bryant. This statue, which depicts Kobe courtside with his 13-year-old daughter Gianna, shows him embracing and kissing her on the head. Vanessa Bryant, Kobe's widow, posed with the statue.
In an Instagram post Vanessa Bryant smiles as she stands beside the statue, captioning the post with a short and sweet: “❤️Kobe & Gigi ❤️.”
The statue, the second of Bryant outside what was formerly known as the Staples Center, was unveiled in a private tented ceremony and will be open for public viewing this weekend. It shows Bryant with his arm around Gigi, seated courtside at a Lakers game on December 29, 2019.
It’s one of three planned monuments celebrating the Lakers Legend, who, along with his daughter Gigi and seven others, died in a January 2020 helicopter crash in Calabasas while heading to a basketball tournament northwest of Los Angeles.
Unveiling Kobe Bryant's statues on symbolic dates
The unveiling took place on a date of numeric significance for both the five-time NBA champion and his daughter Gigi 8/2/24. Bryant wore No. 8 during the early part of his career before switching to No. 24, while Gigi wore No. 2.
A statue of Kobe and Gianna also stands at the Calabasas crash site. Crafted by artist Dan Medina, the statue features Kobe and his daughter sharing a smile and includes a plaque listing the names of the seven other victims.
The first statue unveiling also carried symbolic significance, taking place on 2/8/24. This 19-foot bronze statue features Bryant in his No. 8 jersey, commemorating his remarkable 81-point game against Toronto. Vanessa Bryant mentioned during the February ceremony that the third statue will feature Bryant in his No. 24 jersey.
In 2017, the Lakers retired both of Bryant's jersey numbers, honoring him after his 20-season career with the team. He became the first NBA player to have two numbers retired by the same team.
Bryant holds the franchise records for games played (1,346), minutes (48,637), field goals (11,719), and 3-point shots made (1,827), among many other team records.
Other Lakers legends celebrated with statues outside Crypto.com Arena include Elgin Baylor, Shaquille O'Neal, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Magic Johnson, Jerry West, and announcer Chick Hearn.
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