Ahead of the showdown with the defending champion Denver Nuggets on Thursday night, the NBA trade deadline had officially come and gone, and all the anticipation surrounded the unveiling of Kobe Bryant’s statue outside of Crypto.com Arena.
Before the 2023-24 NBA regular season got underway, the Lakers announced that Bryant would have his statue unveiled on February 8, 2024, which is fitting due to the numerology.
The anticipation for the unveiling had been building for several months, with no one knowing what Bryant’s statue would look like, as no leaks came out before it was unveiled on Thursday afternoon.
Vanessa Bryant had the honor of being on stage when her late husband’s statue was shown to the world and surprised everyone by announcing that the five-time NBA champion wouldn’t have just one but three bronze sculptures.
Unlike the Kobe statue unveiled on Thursday, which was him in the iconic pose walking off the floor after dropping a career-high 81 points against the Toronto Raptors, it is uncertain what the other two statues outside of Crypto.com Arena will look like.
The only details given are that one will involve Gigi Bryant, and the other will be dedicated to the Lakers legend’s time wearing No. 24, with the first statue honoring his stint as No. 8 on the Lakers.
Obviously, this only creates more excitement for the ceremonies yet to come, as many believed it would be hard to sum up the Hall of Famer’s career with one pose, as he had many incredible moments over the course of his time with the Lakers, which spanned two decades.
Although there’s bound to be some criticism that comes with Kobe Bryant getting three statues as opposed to one like every other legend outside of the arena in downtown Los Angeles, he was the face of the Lakers franchise for longer than any other star before him and never left the team during that time.
What will Kobe Bryant statues look like?
The real question now is what the statue with his daughter looks like and what pose he will be in for the other statue honoring his time in No. 24. Much like in No. 8, there are plenty of poses and moments to choose from.
The statue could depict him pulling on his jersey and showing all his passion for the game or jumping on the scorer’s table after winning the championship, with confetti falling around him and Lakers fans losing their minds.
There’s no shortage of options, as he will undoubtedly get the honor he deserves when the time comes.
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