The second of three planned statues of Kobe Bryant will be unveiled Friday in a private ceremony outside of Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles, ESPN reported.
This statue bears the likenesses of the late Lakers superstar and his daughter, Gianna, who was 13 when she died with her father and seven others in a helicopter crash in January 2020.
The ceremony will be held under a tent outside the arena, with the statue available for public viewing Saturday morning, per ESPN.
On Feb. 8, the first statue was unveiled in another private event. That 19-foot memorial is a tribute to Bryant’s 81-point game against the Toronto Raptors on Jan. 22, 2006.
The date of that statue placement was significant, with 2/8/24 representing the uniform number 2 worn by Gianna — who was called Gigi — and her father’s No. 8. The year — 2024 — honors the other number Kobe Bryant wore during his 20 seasons with the Lakers.
Friday’s date of 8/2/24 is an alternate version of the number sequence.
The unveiling of the third statue is expected to occur in the 2024-25 season, ESPN said.
