Kobe Bryant will forever be immortalized in gold and purple outside of the Los Angeles Lakers arena. And according to Vanessa Bryant, he did it his way.
On Thursday, the Lakers unveiled the first of three statues that will sit outside the team’s arena to celebrate the late basketball star. The first statue featured Kobe in his No. 8 Lakers uniform, recreating the pose he struck during his iconic 81-point game. The other two statues will feature Kobe in his No. 24 jersey and one with him and his late daughter Gianna.
[gambcom-standard rankid=”3011″ ]
Before the first statue was unveiled, Vanessa Bryant had quite the quip for possible haters of the statue’s pose, stating that Kobe himself picked it before he passed.
"Kobe picked the pose you're about to see. So if anyone has any issues with it… tough s–t."
Vanessa on Kobe's statue pic.twitter.com/vpIVKQFfKp
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) February 9, 2024
The first of what will be three different Kobe Bryant statues features his pose from the 81-point game and his Nike Zoom Kobe 1s 🐍 pic.twitter.com/uw54TMcCUb
— Complex Sneakers (@ComplexSneakers) February 9, 2024
That’s classic Kobe for you!