The Lakers unveiled a statue in honor of Kobe Bryant and his 13-year-old daughter Gianna Friday outside Crypto.com Arena in downtown Los Angeles.
The statue, the second in Bryant's likeness outside the House That Kobe Built, was revealed in a private tented ceremony and will be available for public viewing this weekend. It depicts Bryant with his arm around Gigi sitting courtside at a Lakers game Dec. 29, 2019.
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It is one of three planned monuments in tribute to the Lakers great, who was among nine people, including daughter Gigi, killed in a January 2020 helicopter crash in Calabasas as they traveled to a basketball tournament northwest of Los Angeles.
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The unveiling was on a date (8/2/24) of numeric significance for the five-time NBA champion and Gigi, a talented young player often seen courtside with her father at Crypto.com Arena engaged in conversation about the game. Bryant wore 8 during the first part of his career, then switched to jersey No. 24. Gigi wore jersey No. 2
More details about the statue are expected Friday afternoon. A third Kobe Bryant monument will be unveiled next season.
The date of the first statue unveiling held the same significance -- 2/8/24. The 19-foot bronze memorial depicts Bryant in his No. 8 jersey celebrating his virtuoso 81-point performance against Toronto. Widow Vanessa Bryant said at the February ceremony that the third statue will show Bryant in his No. 24 jersey.
Other Laker greats honored with a statue outside Crypto.com Arena are Elgin Baylor, Shaquille O'Neal, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Magic Johnson, Jerry West and announcer Chick Hearn.
Both of Bryant's uniform numbers were retired by the Lakers in 2017, the year after his retirement after 20 NBA season, all with the Lakers. He is the first NBA player with two numbers retired by the same team.
Bryant is the franchise leader in games (1,346), minutes played (48,637), field goals (11,719) and 3-point baskets (1,827), among numerous team records.
