Lakers to unveil second Kobe Bryant statue on Friday – Daily News

The Lakers will unveil the second of three statues of Kobe Bryant on Friday during a private ceremony outside Crypto.com Arena.

The unveiling of the statue, which will depict the Lakers legend and his daughter Gianna “Gigi” Bryant, was first reported by ESPN’s Dave McMenamin.

Kobe and Gianna died along with seven others in a helicopter crash on January 26, 2020 in Calabasas.

On February 8, the Lakers unveiled a 19-foot-tall, 4,000-pound bronze statue of Kobe Bryant wearing his number 8 jersey with his right index finger raised as he walked off the court after his 81-point score against the Toronto Raptors in January 2006.

Kobe’s widow, Vanessa Bryant, said during the dedication ceremony in February that the statue is the first of three being created to honor the five-time NBA champion and leading scorer in Lakers history, who retired in 2016. The third and final statue shows Bryant wearing his number 24, which he wore for the second half of his career.

Like the ceremony in February (2/8/24), Friday (8/2/24) has a similar numerical significance, as it represents both Kobe’s jersey numbers (#8 and #24) and Gianna’s jersey number (#2).

ESPN reported that the statue of Kobe and Gianna will be open to the public starting Saturday morning.

On December 18, 2017, the Lakers loaned Bryant numbers 8 and 24, and on May 15, 2021, he was posthumously inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.