Since his death on January 26, 2020 in a helicopter accident, Kobe Bryant has received thousands of tributes in honor of his legendary NBA career. However, the one that will be held today in Los Angeles, specifically at the Crypto.com Arena (pavilion where his longtime team, the Lakers, plays), will be one of the most special, since a bronze statue of Bryant, the player with the most games played in franchise history (1,346).
The inauguration of the 'Black Mamba' statue occurs on a very special date, February 8, 2024, which contains the two numbers that Bryant wore during his career with the Los Angeles team, the '8' and the '24 '. It has not yet been revealed what the sculpture will look like, so it is not known what number of these two the statue will carry.
Bryant, in his 20 seasons with the franchise, managed to win five rings, in addition to a league MVP, two NBA Finals MVPs and 18 All-Star appearances. Apart from this, the 'Black Mamba' left iconic images that can be used for the creation of the statue, such as his recognizable jump shots, the dunks with his back to the basket or his celebration by stretching his shirt. What has been revealed is that in the sculpture made by Omri Amrany and Julie Roblatt-Amrany, his daughter Gigi, who also died in the accident, will appear alongside Bryant.
The opening ceremony will be today at 3 p.m. in Los Angeles (midnight peninsular time), where franchise legends such as Shaquille O'Neal, Pau Gasol and Jerry West, the general manager who signed him for the Lakers, will be present. Vanessa Bryant will also attend, who has stated that "it is an honor that Kobe has a statue next to the house he built."
The sculpture, made of bronze, is not the first to be built in the Lakers' pavilion. In the vicinity of the Crypto.com Arena there are statues of other legends of the Los Angeles team, such as the aforementioned Shaquille O'Neal or Jerry West, along with icons such as Kareem Abdul-Jabbar or Magic Johnson.
The statue will be inaugurated before the Lakers' game against the current NBA champions, the Denver Nuggets, tonight. However, fans will not be able to visit the statue until Friday, when all basketball lovers will be allowed access. In the match against Michael Malone's pupils, the Angelenos will wear the jersey they wore in 2020, when they honored Kobe and became NBA champions.
