*The Los Angeles Lakers unveiled a statue of Kobe Bryant wearing the No. 8 uniform at Crypto.com Arena on Thursday.
Bryan’s widow, Vanessa Bryant, said there will be two other statues, one with him wearing No. 24 and with daughter Gianna, who was killed with the Lakers star in a helicopter crash in 2020, ABC 7 reports. The other two statues were not displayed at the ceremony.
“Because fans all over the world and the City of Angels loved Kobe so much, he will have three statues in front of the arena – also known as the house that Kobe built,” Vanessa said during the tribute.
“For the record, Kobe picked the pose you’re about to see,” she said. “So if anyone has any issues with it, tough (expletive). It is what it is.”
Kobe Bryant statue. Credit Instagram / @/vanessabryant
According to Vanessa, Kobe chose the pose years before he died. The pose “represents a moment from his stunning 81-point game against the Toronto Raptors in 2006, the second-highest point total in a single game in NBA history,” ABC 7 writes.
Five NBA championship trophies surround the base of the statue. It is engraved with “Kobe Bean Bryant” and his nickname, “Black Mamba.”
A QR code is also included on the statue. The code directs smartphone users to a short film about Kobe’s career narrated by Denzel Washington, including the memorable 81-point game.
Vanessa posted a photo on Instagram of herself and her three daughters in front of the statue and captioned it with a quote from Kobe: “‘LEAVE THE GAME BETTER THAN YOU FOUND IT. AND WHEN IT COMES TIME FOR YOU TO LEAVE, LEAVE A LEGEND.’ ~ @kobebryant
,” she wrote.
Watch Vanessa’s speech and statue unveiling via the YouTube clip above.
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