Kobe Bryant
Four years after the death of Los Angeles Lakers icon Kobe Bryant, the franchise has installed the first of three sculptures honouring him outside the city’s
The first was shown on Thursday and shows Bryant, wearing jersey No. 8, looking to the skies after scoring 81 points against the Toronto Raptors on January 22, 2006. It remains the second-most points scored in a single NBA game.
“Kobe picked the pose you’re about to see, so if anyone has any issues with it, tough s—,” Bryant’s wife, Vanessa, remarked during a statue ceremony.
She went on to say, “As I see today’s current generation of star players follow in Kobe’s footsteps with huge scoring games, I know he would take pride in knowing that he is still pouring inspiration into the game that was so special to him.”
Former Lakers coach Phil Jackson said that he benched Bryant after he scored 50 points in three quarters against the Dallas Mavericks. At that moment, the Lakers led by around 25 or 30 points.
“I replied, ‘No, that’s enough.’ We’re going to win this game and conserve some motion for another game later in the night. But the night he scored 81, we needed every point,” Jackson added.
The statue was created by artist Julie Rotblatt Amrany and includes elements specifically requested by Vanessa Bryant, such as an inscription of Bryant’s career accomplishments, a QR code to watch his highlights, a triangular base in homage to Jackson and former NBA coach Tex Winter’s triangle offence, and replicas of Bryant’s five championship trophies encircling the base.
The Lakers said that it will be open to the public beginning Friday at 10 a.m.
Bryant’s monument also has a tattoo on his arm with the names of his and Vanessa’s four daughters: Natalia, Bianka, Capri, and Gianna, all of whom perished in a helicopter crash in 2020 at the age of 13.
“Although some of our girls weren’t born at the time of that particular moment, that specific detail is for Kobe,” she added.
Derek Fisher, Bryant’s former teammate, stated that of all the anecdotes about Bryant, he preferred to relate those about him as a parent, such as taking his family to Disneyland on one of his few days off.
He informed Bryant’s family, “Your father, as you know, and your husband – one of the greatest human beings…who ever walked this Earth, and one of the greatest basketball players to ever touch a basketball.” So, no matter what people say later about who the GOAT [greatest of all time] is, remind them.”