In August 2023, Vanessa Bryant, the widow of Kobe Bryant, announced that a statue of her late husband would be revealed four years after his death. The statue is set to be unveiled on February 8, making it the seventh statue in Lakers history.
“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,” Vanessa said in a video shared on social media last year.
February 8 holds a special significance as it was chosen to pay tribute to Kobe Bryant and his daughter GiGi. The numbers “8” and “24” represent the two jersey numbers worn by Kobe Bryant during his career with the Los Angeles Lakers. He changed his number from 8 to 24 in the middle of his career after Shaquille O’Neal left the team in 2004. Additionally, the month of February is the second month of the year and happens to be the same number that GiGi wore during her basketball games.
A bronze statue of Bryant will be installed outside Crypto.com Arena, along with other greats such as Elgin Baylor, Shaquille O’Neal, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Earvin “Magic” Johnson, Jerry West, and Chick Hearn. The statue will be placed in a triangular space reportedly in honor of the offense run by former head coach Phil Jackson, who won five championships with Bryant during his career. It has been reported that Bryant was involved in the creative process of designing the statue before he passed away.
Just this week, Lamar Odom, a former teammate of Bryant and a close friend surprised two fans with tickets to the statue unveiling ceremony.
The sculptor was designed by Julie Rotblatt-Amrany who also contributed to the creation of statues for Michael Jordan, Elgin Baylor, and Shaquille O’Neal. The unveiling event will be a highly emotional occasion, especially for Lakers fans who have not had much to celebrate since their victory in the play-in tournament.
