Kobe Bryant and his daughter Gianna Bryant died in a tragic helicopter crash on January 26th, 2020. Kobe and Gigi were among 9 people who lost their life on that unfortunate day. NBA fans mourned the loss of the Lakers superstar.
Two years after their death, a 160-pound bronze statue of Kobe and his daughter mysteriously appeared on the site of the helicopter crash. California sculptor Dan Medina crafted a beautiful sculpture and took it along with him on a hike before dawn.
The statue of Kobe is in his uniform and arms around the 13-year-old Gigi who is holding a basketball. The artist told that a usual 24-minute hike took him over an hour because of the obstacles in carrying a heavy statue. However, he was determined to place it before sunrise because of which he started at 4 am.
Furthermore, at the base of the statue, Medina embedded something special. The quote, “Heroes come and go but legends are forever…” along with the names of all 9 people can be seen at the base.
A bronze sculpture of basketball great Kobe Bryant & daughter, Gigi, was erected temporarily at the Calabasas crash site on the 2nd anniversary of the disaster that also claimed the lives of 7 others. Sculptor Dan Medina pulled the 150-lbs sculpture up a steep hill. #girldad pic.twitter.com/L8ln4OtZSq
— Richard Winton (@LAcrimes) January 26, 2022
Medina told that the statue is just a temporary mini version of the human-sized statue he is working on. Fans from all over the world come down to have a glance at this and leave flowers, greetings, etc at the base as a tribute.
Los Angeles Lakers to pay tribute to Kobe Bryant with new statue
The Los Angeles Lakers are all set to install a human-sized statue just outside LA’s Crypto.com Arena. As a tribute to the legendary Kobe Bryant who had a 20-year-long career with the Lakers. The statue will include Bryant’s daughter Gigi who was a rising star and shared the same love for basketball.
It is planned that the statue will be inaugurated on the 8th of August in 2024. Thereby referring to the iconic number 8 as well as the 24 jersey number of Kobe Bryant. The arena has statues of other legendary NBA players such as Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Shaquille O’Neal, Elgin Baylor, Magic Johnson, and Jerry West. Fans will soon look at Kobe’s statue among them.
Interestingly, Bryant reportedly won 836 times over his career, scored 81 points in a single game, and helped the Lakers win five NBA championships. Shortly after his death, he was formally included in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. This was a part of the class of 2020.
His wife, Vanessa Bryant gave an emotional yet powerful speech during the introduction of the event. She candidly said, “You did it. You’re in the Hall of Fame now”. She was accompanied by Michael Jordan while she gave this moving speech.
