Sports
Vanessa Bryant & Daughters Pose With The New Kobe & Gigi Statue
The Bryant Family Attend The Unveiling Event Of The New Kobe & Gigi Statue
Yesterday, the Lakers unveiled a statue in honor of Kobe Bryant and his 13-year-old daughter Gianna ‘Gigi’, in a private ceremony under a tent. The statue is located outside Crypto.com Arena in downtown Los Angeles.
The statue is a tribute to the legendary Los Angeles Lakers player and his daughter, who tragically died in a helicopter crash in January 2020 along with seven other people.
The public will be able to visit the statue starting Saturday morning. This is the second of three planned monuments honoring Bryant. The first monument, a 19-foot-tall bronze sculpture commemorating the baller’s historic 81-point game against the Toronto Raptors, was unveiled on February 8.
The ultimate Girl Dad 💜 pic.twitter.com/DPfxlIYlCl
— Los Angeles Lakers (@Lakers) August 3, 2024
The date of the ceremony (8/2/24) is also a significant one as it has a meaning to the February ceremony (2/8/24), representing the two uniform numbers Bryant wore during his career (8 and 24) and the number 2 that 13-year-old Gigi wore on during his time at the court.
The Bryant family was there to take a picture with the statue after the unveiling. Vanessa Bryant and her three remaining daughters pose for a picture at the special moment in an eventful day.
Vanessa Bryant also spoke at the unveiling about the inspiration behind the statue. “We merged two iconic courtside moments of Kobe and Gigi. 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,” she said.
“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,” she continued.
“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,” Vanessa added.
The Bryant family. Forever a beacon of love, strength and hope 💜 pic.twitter.com/GU71bNzUK9
— Los Angeles Lakers (@Lakers) August 2, 2024