A Kobe Bryant statue, along with his daughter Gigi is all set to be unveiled outside LA’s Crypto.com Arena, outside the Lakers home by the Los Angeles franchise on August 8, 2024, in a nod to his jersey numbers, 8 and 24.
Laker owner Jeanie Buss expressed her desire to erect this statue after Bryant, his 13-year-old daughter, Gigi, six friends, and a pilot died in a helicopter crash in January 2020. Though Bryant’s widow, Vanessa, is involved in the tribute, the artist for the piece was not yet confirmed.
A Kobe/Gigi statue already exists at the crash site in Calabasas, California, but it is not the permanent location. It’s a 150-pound bronze, created by Southern California artist Dan Medina depicting Kobe Bryant in his Lakers uniform with his arm around Gigi, a budding basketball player at the time of the crash.
The base has an inscription “Heroes come and go, but legends are forever,” along with the names of other crash victims- Christina Mauser, Payton and Sarah Chester, John, Keri, and Alyssa Altobelli, and pilot Ara Zobayan. Fans usually lay flowers and other memorials at the site. The statue is a smaller version of the life-size sculpture he is working on and wishes to place in downtown Los Angeles.
