Statue of Kobe Bryant

For the second of three Kobe Bryant memorial statues, see Statue of Kobe and Gianna Bryant.
Statue of Kobe Bryant
The statue in 2024
Map
MediumBronze sculpture
SubjectKobe Bryant
LocationLos Angeles, California, U.S.
Coordinates34°2′37.3″N 118°15′57.6″W / 34.043694°N 118.266000°W / 34.043694; -118.266000

The Kobe Bean Bryant Memorial Statue, also known as the "Black Mamba Statue", is a work of public art by American artist and sculptor Julie Rotblatt-Amrany. The 19-foot bronze sculpture of the American basketball player Kobe Bryant was commissioned by Bryant's widow, Vanessa Bryant in her husband's honor, and stands on a plinth in front of the Crypto.com Arena located in downtown Los Angeles. The statue was unveiled in 2024. The sculpture is the first of the three memorials planned to stand outside the Lakers downtown arena.[1][2][3][4][5]

History

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On February 8, 2024, The Los Angeles Lakers unveiled a 19-foot statue of deceased retired NBA player Kobe Bryant outside of the Crypto.com Arena.[6] The statue, sculpted by Julie Rotblatt-Amrany,[7] depicts Bryant's right index finger skyward pose after his famous career-high 81-point game on January 22, 2006, against the Toronto Raptors, with his name and scorer's report from that game etched into the statue, representing one of his most iconic games during his career.[8] The back of the statue contains a quote from Bryant, stating,

Leave the game better than you found it. And when it comes time for you to leave, leave a legend.

— Kobe Bryant

Kobe Bryant had spent his entire career with the Los Angeles Lakers since being drafted in the 1996 NBA Draft by the Charlotte Hornets before being traded to the team after being selected 13th overall. Eventually, he led the Lakers to seven NBA Finals appearances, winning five championships, two NBA Finals MVPs, one NBA MVP, and won two Olympic Gold Medals for the United States men's national basketball team. Bryant also made 18x NBA All-Star appearances while also being the NBA's scoring champion two times, winning the Slam-Dunk Contest once, making the NBA's All-Defensive First Team nine times, and making the All-NBA First Team eleven times.[9]

The statue honoring Kobe Bryant and his daughter Gianna Bryant received some mixed reactions from fans shortly after the statue's unveiling.[10]

Reception and criticism

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Around one month after the statue's unveiling, fans outside of Crypto.com Arena began to spot multiple spelling errors on the sculpture.[11] The errors included misspelling of Toronto Raptors guard José Calderón as "Jose Calderson", misspelling of Los Angeles Lakers guard Von Wafer as "Vom Wafer", and the word "decision" misspelled as "decicion" in the sentence, "Coach's decision".[12] Bryant's facsimile signature also read, "Kobe 24" despite him wearing his white No. 8 Lakers uniform on the statue.

Some fans were disappointed by the statue, saying that the statue's face looked more like former NBA and NBA G League player Andre Ingram,[10] and that the statue had a lack of detail. Others said that the statue was small, which they said was a "disrespect to Kobe."[13] Fans also pointed out minor formatting errors on the base of the statue which displays many of Bryant's accomplishments throughout his 20-season-long career.

The Los Angeles Lakers on March 11, 2024, announced their plans to correct and fix spelling errors and formatting errors on the statue, which were completed on April 9, 2024.[14][15]

Future Plans

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Future installations will include one additional statues. One will depict Bryant in his No. 24 jersey, representing the latter part of his illustrious career with the Los Angeles Lakers. On August 2, 2024, the Los Angeles Lakers unveiled the Statue of Kobe and Gianna Bryant, the second of the three planned statues, serving as a tribute to the two who both passed away in the helicopter crash in January 2020.[16][17]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "'Vom Wafer': Lakers forced to correct errors on statue dedicated to Kobe Bryant". The Guardian. 2024-03-11. ISSN 0261-3077. Archived from the original on 2024-03-18. Retrieved 2024-03-19.
  2. ^ "Kobe Bryant immortalized with a 19-foot bronze statue outside the Lakers' downtown arena". NBC News. 2024-02-09. Archived from the original on 2024-03-18. Retrieved 2024-03-19.
  3. ^ Soto, Missael (2024-02-08). "Kobe Bryant's statue unveiled outside Crypto.com Arena". NBC Los Angeles. Archived from the original on 2024-02-15. Retrieved 2024-03-19.
  4. ^ "Kobe Bryant Statue Unveiled at Lakers Home Game, 2 More Statues Announced". People Magazine. Archived from the original on 2024-02-11. Retrieved 2024-03-19.
  5. ^ Ho, Karen K. (2024-03-13). "19-Foot-Tall Statue of Kobe Bryant in Los Angeles Is Unveiled with Typos, Goes Viral". ARTnews.com. Retrieved 2024-06-07.
  6. ^ "Lakers to unveil Kobe Bryant statue in 2024". NBA.com. Retrieved 2024-03-29.
  7. ^ Yakimowich, Carlos (February 20, 2024). "Meet the Artist Behind the New Kobe Bryant Statue". Los Angeles Magazine. Retrieved March 16, 2024.
  8. ^ "Lakers 122-104 Raptors (Jan 22, 2006) Final Score". ESPN. Retrieved March 16, 2024.
  9. ^ "The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame :: Kobe Bryant". www.hoophall.com. Retrieved 2024-06-07.
  10. ^ a b Amurao, Reign (February 9, 2024). "Kobe statue face looks more like Andre Ingram - Kobe Bryant's statue unveiled by Lakers has NBA fans disappointed". Sportskeeda. Retrieved March 16, 2024.
  11. ^ Rozier, Alex (March 11, 2024). "Kobe Bryant may have chased perfection, but his statue has imperfections". NBC Los Angeles. Retrieved March 16, 2024.
  12. ^ Mohtasham, Diba (March 12, 2024). "A new Kobe Bryant statue has multiple errors. It's not the first memorial with typos". NPR. Retrieved March 16, 2024.
  13. ^ Martinez, Nico (February 9, 2024). "Lakers Fans Are Displeased With Kobe Bryant's New Statue: "Disrespect To Kobe..."". Fadeaway World. Retrieved March 16, 2024.
  14. ^ "Errors corrected on Kobe statue outside arena". ESPN.com. 2024-04-09. Retrieved 2024-04-09.
  15. ^ "Lakers plan to correct handful of errors on base of Kobe Bryant statue". NBA. Associated Press. March 11, 2024. Retrieved March 16, 2024.
  16. ^ Lloyd • •, Jonathan (2024-08-02). "Lakers unveil statue of Kobe Bryant and daughter Gigi outside Crypto.com Arena". NBC Los Angeles. Retrieved 2024-08-03.
  17. ^ Ho, Karen K. (2024-03-13). "19-Foot-Tall Statue of Kobe Bryant in Los Angeles Is Unveiled with Typos, Goes Viral". ARTnews.com. Retrieved 2024-06-07.
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