The NBA Los Angeles Lakers have erected a statue in their home stadium honoring “legendary” Kobe Bryant.
According to ESPN, the Los Angeles Lakers unveiled a bronze statue of Bryant, about 5.8 meters in size and weighing about 1.8 tons, outside Crypto Dotcom Arena in Los Angeles, California, today (9th). 안전 토토사이트
The statue modeled Bryant walking off the court with his right index finger facing the sky in his white No. 8 jersey after scoring 81 points against Toronto in January 2006.
On the floor of the statue, Bryant's nickname, “Black Mamba,” was engraved with the words “Koby Bryant.”
On the cornerstone at the bottom of the statue, the box score of the game with 81 points was also carved, and a QR code was also prepared to see the highlight video of the game.
Bryant, a “one-club man” who played only for the Los Angeles Lakers for 20 years from the 1996-1997 season, has established himself as a “L.A. Lakers legend” on and off the court to the point where he was called the successor to “Basketball Emperor” Michael Jordan.
Bryant's 33,643 career points are the fourth highest in NBA history.
Bryant died suddenly in a helicopter crash in January 2020, along with his second daughter Gianna.
Along with Lakers legends and hundreds of fans, Bryant's wife Vanessa and owner Jeanie Buss and NBA legend and Hall of Fame inductee Kareem Abdulzaba attended the statue's construction ceremony.
Vanessa introduced the statue as the first of three statues made in his honor.
The second statue is wearing Bryant's number 24, and the third is modeled after Gianna.
Bryant is the sixth to have a Lakers player statue built at the star plaza of Crypto Dotcom Arena, following Shaquille O'Neal, Abdulzabah, Magic Johnson, Jerry West and Elgin Baylor.
