In February outside of Crypto.com Arena‚ formerly Staples Center‚ several errors on the newly unveiled Kobe Bryant statue were noticed. The Los Angeles Lakers were able to identify the errors and make the necessary corrections.
The errors corrected were the misspelled names of former NBA players Jose Calderon and Von Wafer. It occurred on the rendered box score base from Bryant’s iconic 81-point game in Jan 2006 against the Toronto Raptors. The other error also addressed was a misspelling of the phrase “coach decision” with other minor formatting issues. The name of the statue’s artist, Julie Rotblatt Amrany, was also added to the base to highlight his contribution. Overall these were much-needed corrections to properly honor one of the greatest players of all time.
Bryant’s facsimile signature has been revised and changed to read “Kobe” wearing the number 24‚ from earlier engraved wording on the iconic statue. The statue of Kobe shows his icon No.8 jersey‚ worn in the first half of his career when he entered the NBA. Because of the jersey, he was assigned to at Adidas ABCD camp for the up-and-coming high school stars, which was 143, he added and came up with number 8 as his jersey choice for his rookie year.
The first of three monumental statues is planned to honor and celebrate the Los Angeles Lakers icon. The set location and the unveiling date for the other two statues‚ one of Kobe Bryant in his famous No.24 jersey‚ and the other with his also departed daughter Gianna Bryant. The father and daughter died in the 2020‚ ill-fated helicopter crash‚ on their flight to the Mamba Sports Academy in Thousand Oaks. The pilot tragically lost control of the helicopter due to thick fog and bad weather. The anticipated statues are still yet to be communicated to and unveiled, according to a Lakers team concerned spokesperson.
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