A solemn ceremony in honor of Kobe Bryant took place at the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles on Thursday, Feb. 8. The ceremony was a precursor to a statue reveal of the late Los Angeles Lakers player. Bryant’s wife, Vanessa Bryant, sat on a panel alongside Lakers commentator Stu Lantz, former Lakers head coach Phil Jackson, former Lakers Derek Fisher and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, and Lakers owner Jeanie Buss. Bryant’s daughters, Natalia, Bianka, and Capri were also in attendance.
Many of Bryant’s peers were in the audience, including a noticeably emotional Pau Gasol, Lamar Odom, and Metta World Peace. Current Lakers coach Darvin Ham, small forward Austin Reaves, and Lakers legend Magic Johnson were also among the celebrity-packed room.
Buss kicked off the ceremony giving a nod to her late father Jerry Buss, crediting him for declaring Bryant a lifetime Laker. She also acknowledged feeling the absence of Bryant and his late daughter, Gianna, who was with Bryant when the tragic helicopter accident occurred in 2020.
“I think of Kobe constantly and miss him and Gigi more than words can say,” Buss said. “But today I am filled with joy because in the future I know fans will gather here, in the shade of this statue beside this building where Kobe gave us so many memories.”
Buss was followed by Fisher, who spoke of Bryant’s dedication to his family and commitment to fatherhood, telling Bryant’s children that their dad was “one of the greatest human beings to ever walk this earth” and “one of the greatest basketball players to touch a basketball.”
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The room erupted when Fisher took a jab at the greatest of all time conversation that has surrounded Kobe Bryant and some of his fierce counterparts.
“No matter what people ever try to tell you later about who the G.O.A.T. is and all that, remind them,” Fisher continued. “He wasn’t just a player, he was a legend.”
Jackson became emotional while sharing an intimate story about Bryant returning from Mass in the middle of Mardi Gras season.
“The streets were still reveling with drunken young people at three in the morning,” Jackson said. “I was sitting in the lobby reading the paper at 9 o’clock in the morning, waiting for my staff to come down…and I got a tap on the shoulder. It was Kobe. He’d been to Mass and had ashes on his forehead, and I knew he was working on himself. Important.”
Mrs. Bryant revealed that there will be three statues in front of the arena known as “the house that Kobe built.” Two of the statues will display Bryant’s jersey numbers, 8 and 24, and one will be with their daughter, Gianna.
Anticipating the discourse to follow, Mrs. Bryant said, “For the record, Kobe picked the pose you’re about to see, so if anyone has any issues with it, tough sh**.”
During his 20-year career with the Lakers, Bryant scored 33,643 points and was an 18-time All-Star. He won a league MVP award, two NBA Finals MVP awards, and five NBA championships. In 2020, he was posthumously inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.
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Just before the unveiling of the statue, Mrs. Bryant left the audience with a word of advice, “Leave the game better than you found it, and when it comes time for you to leave, leave a legend.”
Watch The Statue Reveal Below:
