Just hours before their game agains the Denver Nuggets, the LA Lakers unveil the 19-foot bronze statue of Kobe Bryant, honoring the late superstar outside their downtown arena.
For Kobe. For the die-hard Laker fans. For our family.
Mamba forever. pic.twitter.com/uExf0oEWgY
— Los Angeles Lakers (@Lakers) February 9, 2024
The 4,000-pound statue depicts Bryant wearing his white No. 8 jersey with his right index finger raised as he walked off the court following his 81-point performance against the Toronto Raptors in January 2006.
Here’s a side-by-side image from FIBA’s official X/twitter account;
KOBE BEAN BRYANT đ¤
Lakers unveiled Black Mambaâs statue đ
đ¸ @Lakers pic.twitter.com/CnGuSe4zjf
— FIBA (@FIBA) February 9, 2024
Kobe Bryant’s 20-year career with the Lakers in a nutshell;
Bryant, an 18-time NBA All-Star, retired as the first player in NBA history to play at least 20 seasons with a single franchise. Known for his âMamba Mentality,â he helped guide the Lakers to five NBA Championships (2000, 2001, 2002, 2009, 2010) and earned Finals MVP honors in 2009 and 2010. Voted the NBAâs Most Valuable Player in 2008, Bryant earned All-NBA honors 15 times, including 11 First Team selections, and was named to 12 All-Defensive Teams throughout his career, including nine All-Defensive First Team honors.
The Hall-of-Famer and two-time Olympic gold medalist stands as the purple and goldâs all-time leader in regular season games played (1,346), points (33,643), 3-pointers made (1,827), steals (1,944) and free throws made (8,378), while owning franchise playoff records for games played (220), points (5,640), 3-pointers made (292) and free throws made (1,320). A two-time scoring champion, Bryant scored a career-high and franchise-best 81 points on Jan. 22, 2006, at home versus Toronto. The Lakers retired Bryantâs No. 8 and No. 24 jerseys on Dec. 18, 2017.
Kobe’s will be the 7th Laker immortalize in a statue that’s on display outside the Crypto Arena.