The gold and purple franchise will debut this week as a tribute to the NBA star who died in 2020
A very special date is coming up for Los Angeles Lakers fans. This week, more precisely on Thursday, February 8, they will unveil a statue of Kobe Bryant. The historic NBA player, who tragically died in January 2020, will be commemorated in an event that will be broadcast by various channels around the world. This will be the seventh Lakers icon to be honored with this recognition. The other six are: Elgin Baylor, Chick Hearn, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Earvin “Magic” Johnson, Shaquille O’Neal and Jerry West.
Both players were part of the initial process of creating this tribute after his retirement in 2016, after wearing the Lakers jersey for 20 seasons. The statue’s inauguration date was originally set to be August 24 of this year, a day commonly known as “mamba day” in honor of the numbers the player used during his time in the NBA. . Finally, it was changed to this Thursday, to symbolize, in a different way, significant numbers.
Gianna, the young daughter of the former player who also died in the helicopter accident, used the number 2 on her jersey during her youth on the basketball stage. Thus the date “8-2-24” combines three numbers used by the Bryant family at different times in their lives. In addition to the main event, the Lakers will host Kobe in the game with the Denver Nuggets, the last NBA champions. The Los Angeles franchise will wear the uniform they wore in the year of their last championship, black, in honor of the Black Mamba.
One of the many tributes
While the highlight of the evening will be the event unveiling the creation of sculptor Julie Rotblatt Amrany, there will be several physical tributes to honor her legacy. Fans can visit the Kobe statue in the Star Plaza outside the Crypto.com Arena beginning the morning of Friday, February 9.
It is noteworthy that since January 2022 there is already a bronze sculpture of the star and his daughter on the mountain of Calabasas where both died after a fatal accident. “Heroes come and go, but legends are forever”reads the plaque located on the pedestal.
Source: Tycsports
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