The Lakers have unveiled a second Kobe Bryant statue, this one honoring his bond with his daughter Gigi. The statue is the second of three planned monuments of the Los Angeles Lakers legend, who tragically passed away in a helicopter crash in January 2020 along with his 13-year-old daughter Gigi and seven others. The statue was unveiled on August 2nd (8/2/24), which is similar numerology to the first statue’s unveiling on February 8th (2/8/24). The numerology represents Bryant’s uniform numbers, 8 and 24, as well as Gigi’s number 2 that she wore on the basketball court. The third statue will show Bryant in his No. 24 Lakers uniform and will be unveiled “sometime next season,” according to sources at ESPN.
Images of the new Kobe and Gianna Bryant statue outside of https://t.co/RbGGF9XJog Arena, courtesy of the Lakers pic.twitter.com/MwKrjhwfOo
— Dave McMenamin (@mcten) August 2, 2024
The plaque in from of the statue reads, “Gianna Bryant, Inspirational Icon for Girls in Sports” and “Kobe Bryant, Proud Supporter of Women in Sports.” Underneath that are words from Kobe Bryant: “Gianna is a beast. She’s better than I was at her age. She’s got it. Girls are amazing. I would have five more girls if I could. I’m a girl dad.”
Bryant’s widow, Vanessa Bryant, shared the meaning of the statue in a statement. “We merged two iconic courtside moments of Kobe and Gigi,” she said. “Gianna has her gorgeous smile on her face and Kobe is kissing the top of her head while wearing the Philadelphia Eagles beanie that Gigi gifted him for Christmas. He’s also wearing a WNBA hoodie he wore courtside to the game with Gigi. Kobe was the first NBA player to wear that orange hoodie to a big game and that was to show his support for Gigi’s dreams and for women across all sports. That was a moment he shared with Gigi that will always be a powerful representation of the movement towards equality that was always so important to our family.”
The father-daughter statue is located outside of the Crypto.com Arena and is open to the public to visit.