SUMMARY
- A statue of Kobe Bryant was finally unveiled at Crypto.com Arena.
- The statue depicts Bryant after his record breaking 81 point performance.
After much anticipation, a statue paying respect to Kobe Bryant was finally unveiled outside Crypto.com Arena on 8 February 2024. As almost all NBA fans should be aware, Bryant was a former Los Angeles Lakers legend and is considered by many to be one of the greatest players in the history of the NBA.
Kobe died alongside his daughter Gianna and several others in a tragic helicopter accident more than 4 years ago. Given that he had recently retired and still had a lot of life left to live, this was a loss that the basketball world struggled to cope with and accept.
In order to honor his accomplishments with the Los Angeles Lakers, a statue of him was unveiled outside the Lakers’ stadium. That said, fans might want to know more about his statue and its significance.
The Kobe Bryant statue represents his record-breaking 81-point game
The statue of Kobe Bryant that the Los Angeles Lakers organization chose to unveil was of him pointing to the sky after making NBA history. Die-hard Kobe fans will remember that Bryant scored an incredible 81 points in a game against the Toronto Raptors back on Jan 22, 2006.
While the statue’s pose is something that Kobe reportedly wanted according to his wife Vanessa, who also revealed that the Lakes have made special plans in order to showcase their love for Kobe.
2 more statues of Bryant are expected to be unveiled in the future
Vanessa Bryant made a heartwarming speech during the unveiling of the Kobe Bryant statue. Although many fans might have expected a speech from the late Bryant’s widow, they were caught guard when Vanessa shared that 2 more statues of Kobe were also expected to be unveiled outside the arena.
Since the unexpected passing of Kobe, his daughter, and several others also deserve a shrine of some form, Laker Nation also plans to have a statue of Kobe and Gianna. At the moment, details regarding the specifics of the statues and their release date have not been made public.