The Los Angeles Lakers did right by franchise legend Kobe Bryant when they unveiled the first of his three statues in front of Crypto.com Arena.
The statue features one of Bryant’s most iconic poses, him raising his right index finger toward the ceiling shortly after checking out after his 81-point performance in a comeback win against the Toronto Raptors. There were several images of Bryant that were speculated on by media and fans, but Vanessa Bryant revealed in her speech that Bryant himself picked the post that would immortalize his accomplishments.
The Lakers gave the public its first view of Bryant’s statue via an aired special of a private ceremony that took place last February. Aside from Vanessa, several other people close to Bryant such as Jeanie Buss, Derek Fisher and Phil Jackson gave heartfelt speeches about him and what he meant to the franchise and fans.
Plenty of planning went into creating the statue though it appears that some details like spelling were overlooked, via Andre Voight of Got Nexxt:
Hm … Kobes Statue mit drei Fehlern? CalderSon, VoM Wafer, DeciCion? What? 😨 pic.twitter.com/5ea6zWuXJ7
— André „Dré“ Voigt (@drevoigt) March 10, 2024
Although these mistakes were just publicized, it appears the Lakers were already aware and are in the process of having them corrected, via Dave McMenamin of ESPN:
“We have been aware of this for a few weeks and are already working to get it corrected soon,” a Lakers spokesperson said in a statement on Monday.
For an organization known to treat its star players right, this is an embarrassing gaffe that some people surely had to be reprimanded about. It’s unclear how multiple mistakes could be allowed to go to production, but it’s obvious that it needed extra eyes on it before it was sent out to be put on display.
There hasn’t been a timeline reported for when the statue will be corrected, though it won’t stop fans from flocking toward it. Since the statue was erected, people have come in droves to see it and pay their respects to one of the best basketball players to ever step foot in the NBA.
Austin Reaves appreciated witnessing Kobe Bryant statue unveiling
It was disappointing that fans weren’t allowed to witness the statue’s unveiling, though at least some members of the team were able to attend. Austin Reaves got the chance to see the unveiling and he appreciated being given the opportunity to do so.
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