Kobe Bryant is Memorialized With a 19-foot Bronze Statue at The Lakers Arena

It seemed difficult to condense Kobe Bryant and his 20-year, Hall of Fame career with the Los Angeles Lakers into one bronze statue to commemorate him forever.

Bryant’s family and Lakers picked three.

The first, portraying Bryant in his No. 8 suit with a finger to the sky as he left the floor after his 2006 81-point game against the Raptors, was revealed Thursday afternoon by dozens of Lakers legends.

“For the record, Kobe picked the pose you’re about to see, so if anyone has any issues with it, tough s—,” Vanessa Bryant, Bryant’s widow, said from a platform during the tented event on Star Plaza outside Crypto.com Arena

The 19-foot-tall, 4,000-pound bronze statue is flanked by five replica Larry O’Brien Trophies and sits on a black, triangle-shaped pedestal, a nod to Phil Jackson and Tex Winter’s triangle offense.

Quote from Bryant on base: “Leave game better than you found it. depart a legend when you depart.”

An innovative QR code atop the monument lets fans scan their phones to view a Bryant highlight film narrated by Denzel Washington.

A Lakers official said the site and unveiling date for the other two statues—one of Bryant in his No. 24 uniform and the other with his daughter Gianna, who died in the 2020 helicopter crash—are still being finalized.

“When I found out there was going to be three statues, I just said, ‘That’s fitting,'” said Rob Pelinka, Bryant’s longtime friend and agent and Lakers vice president of basketball operations and general manager. Because that’s how LA feels about Kobe Bryant. He deserves something no other player here has.”

Vanessa Bryant was the penultimate speaker of the celebration, following Lakers governor Jeanie Buss, Derek Fisher, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, and Jackson, who coached Bryant to all five titles.

Vanessa Bryant said her husband’s finger-pointing statue was a lasting dedication to L.A. fans.

“Also today I was just kind of struck with him pointing up to the heavens and just knowing that he and Gigi are in a good place,” Pelinka said. “The pose took on some different meaning there for me.”

Abdul-Jabbar, a storyteller like Bryant, paid tribute.

“This statue may look like Kobe, but really it’s what excellence looks like, what discipline looks like, what commitment looks like, what love of family looks like,” Abdul-Jabbar. “Great work, the statue. It shows a human stuck in time and admits that the statue is there because they are timeless.”

Fisher, who was drafted alongside and joined the Lakers as rookies in 1996, watched Bryant’s fame blossom.

“In the realm of basketball, he wasn’t just a player, he was a legend, like an actual living legend,” said Fisher. “That’s what it felt like to be around him.”

Buss quoted her father, Jerry Buss.

“Everyone who watched him play knows he did things on the court differently. “He was a scrapper, fighter, winner, and artist who could control the world,” she remarked. “I think that is what my father meant when he said seeing Kobe play was like watching a miracle unfold.”

The statue is based on a shot by longtime NBA photographer Noah Graham, who was invited but astonished when the gold curtain was down.

“When that confetti blew off, I knew,” Graham told ESPN. “I was unaware. I understand this in Kobe times. I’m biassed. I was there. Through my sight. I’ll vote for one of my actions.

“This made the most sense for Kobe and his relationship with fans. It illustrates the link between ‘I see you’ and ‘You see me.'”