The Los Angeles Lakers will pay tribute to Kobe Bryant by mounting a statue in front of the arena where he played for half of his career.
They announced the plan on Thursday, to honor Bryant, the fourth-leading scorer in NBA history and beloved mainstay of the Lakers for 20 seasons, with a statute that will be unveiled on February 8th, 2024 at Crypto.com Arena.
This announcement was made on August 24th dubbed as “Kobe Day’’ since the eight-month and 24th-day tie into his jersey numbers with the Lakers (Nos. 8, 24).
Byrant’s wife, Vanessa talked about the statue being unveiled at Star Plaza outside the stadium before the Lakers’ game that evening against the Denver Nuggets (10 p.m. ET TNT). He is the sixth former Los Angeles player and seventh team employee to be immortalized with a statue at the arena, which has housed the franchise since 1999.
“As you know, Kobe played his entire 20-year NBA career as a Los Angeles Laker,” Vanessa Bryant said in a video to fans posted at 8:24 this morning. “Since arriving in this city and joining the Lakers organization, he felt at home here, playing in the City of Angels. On behalf of the Lakers, my daughters and me, I am so honored that, right in the center of Los Angeles, in front of the place known as the house that Kobe built, we are going to unveil his statue so that his legacy can be celebrated forever.”
Bryant and his daughter, Gianna died in a helicopter crash in January 2020.
The 2/8/24 date of the unveiling is a conspicuous one: Kobe wore No.8 and No.24 during each half of his Lakers career, while Gianna wore No.2 while playing youth basketball. They were flying together to a basketball competition with seven others when their helicopter crashed in fog in Calabasas, California.
After his retirement, Kobe Bryant participated in the initial planning of the anticipated statue to be put at Star Plaza, the Lakers said. This is the first in a series of physical tributes to honor his legacy.
Bryant joins the list of Lakers with statues outside the arena like Elgin Baylor, Shaquille O’Neal, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Magic Johnson, Jerry West and Chick Hearn. Star Plaza also includes statues of the Los Angeles Kings Wayne Gretzky, Luc Robitaille, Dustin Brown and announcer Bob Miller, alongside champion boxer Oscar De La Hoya.
The statue was designed by renowned sculptor Julie Rotblatt Amrany of the Fine Art Studio of Rotblatt Amrany.
“Kobe Bryant was one of the most extraordinary athletes of all time, and one of the most iconic individuals in the history of Los Angeles,” Jeanie Buss, Los Angeles Lakers governor, said in a statement Thursday. “There is no better place for Kobe to be honored with a statue than here, at the center of our city, where everyone can celebrate him and be inspired by his incredible achievements.”
The February 8th ceremony will happen outside the arena. Details will be released in the coming months.
“Kobe’s transcendent spirit is always and forever in our hearts — inspiring us every day,” Lakers general manager Rob Pelinka said in a statement Thursday. “And now, with the unveiling of this powerful and beautiful statue, he will have a physical presence, too. A place on the hallowed ground Kobe created, where we can all gather and pay honor to a mighty and great man.”
Kobe Bryant, an 18-time NBA All-Star, retired as the first player in NBA history to play at least 20 seasons with a single franchise. Renowned for this “Mamba Mentality’’ he guided the Lakers to win five NBA titles (2000,’01, ‘02, ‘09, ‘10) and earned Finals MVP honors twice (2009, ‘10). Voted the NBA’s Most Valuable Player in 2028, Bryant received All-NBA honors 15 times, including 11 First Team selections and was named to 12 All-Defensive Teams throughout his career, including All-Defensive First Team honors.
The Hall-of-Famer and two-time Olympic gold medalist stands as the Lakers’ all-time leader in regular season games played (1,346), points (33,643), 3-pointers made (1,827), steals (1,944) and free throws made (8,378), while owning franchise playoff records for games played (220), points (5,640), 3-pointers made (292) and free throws made (1,320).
Kobe, a two-time scoring champion, Bryant scored a career-high and franchise-best 81 points on January 22, 2006 vs. the Toronto Raptors. The Lakers retired his No.8 and No. 24 jerseys on December 18, 2017.
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