It was back on January 26 of 2020 that the NBA world and the Los Angeles Lakers lost the legendary Kobe Bryant.
That day is still etched into the minds of sports fans the world over. We all know where we were when news came out that Bryant was involved in a helicopter accident in the Southern California city of Calabasas. Bryant, his daughter Gianna and seven others died in the fiery accident. Bryant was just 41 years old at the time.
Since Bryant’s tragic death, the Lakers have done everything possible to pay homage to the five-time NBA champion and his daughter.
That’s not changing more than four years after his passing.
Per ESPN’s Dave McMenamin, the Lakers will unveil a statue of Bryant and his daughter during a private ceremony outside of Crypto.Com Arena on Friday.
“The statue of the father and daughter is located near the Los Angeles Kings’ monument celebrating the team’s 50th anniversary. It will be available for the public to visit starting Saturday morning, ESPN report on Kobe Bryant statue.
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Los Angeles Lakers Kobe Bryant statue unevil has special significance to it
Friday’s date (8/2/24) is not random. The eight and 24 represents the jersey numbers Bryant wore during his brilliant 20-year run with the Lakers. As for the two, that’s the jersey number Gianna were on the basketball court before she died at the young age of 13.
The expectation is that Bryant’s widow, Vanessa, will be on hand for the ceremony. She took part in the first statue reveal back in February.