The Los Angeles Lakers have unveiled a 19-foot bronze statue of Kobe Bryant, honouring their late superstar outside their downtown arena.
Bryant, who is the all-time leading scorer in Lakers history, tragically died in a helicopter crash on January 26, 2020. All eight other passengers, including his 13-year-old daughter Gianna, also passed away in the crash.
Some of the biggest names in Lakers history attended the private ceremony outside of Crypto.com Arena, including Jerry West, Magic Johnson, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and former head coach Phil Jackson.
Kobe's widow Vannessa Bryant spoke at the ceremony.
"As I see today's current generation of star players follow in Kobe's footsteps with huge scoring games, I know he would take pride in knowing that he is still pouring inspiration into the game that was so special to him," she said.
"I leave you with one of my husband's amazing quotes," Bryant continued. "'Leave the game better than you found it and when it comes time for you to leave, leave a legend'. And that he did."
The first Bryant statue was revealed from behind a gold curtain with confetti flying. It depicts Bryant in a white Lakers uniform with the No. 8. His right index finger is pointed into the air, depicting the moment after his 81-point performance against the Toronto Raptors on January 22, 2006.
Vanessa Bryant also revealed it would be the first of three statues. Another will show Bryant wearing his No. 24 jersey, the third being Bryant and his daughter Gianna.
Bryant joined the Lakers as a teenager straight out of high school and spent his entire career in Los Angeles, winning five NBA titles and retiring after the 2015-16 season. In the history of a franchise filled with great players, Bryant holds numerous team records, including points and games played.
His 33,643 points are the fourth most in NBA history.
