Lakers unveil new statue of Kobe and Gigi Bryant outside of Crypto.com Arena

The Los Angeles Lakers unveiled a second statue of Kobe Bryant outside of Crypto.com Arena on Friday in a private ceremony. 

The statue depicts the late Laker legend kissing his daughter Gianna, fondly known as Gigi, on the forehead, drawing inspiration from moments of the two at different basketball games in 2019. Angel wings are wrapped around the pair's shoulders, while the entire statue is encircled with purple and gold flowers. 

The gold plaque on the base of the statue includes one of Bryant's most famous quotes about the joys of being a father and witnessing the successes of his children.

"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."

The plaque also refers to him as "Most Valuable Girl Dad" and an "Inspirational Icon for Girls in Sports."

It will officially be made available for public viewing on Saturday morning,

In a statement released by the Lakers, Bryant's wife Vanessa shared a statement.

"Let's build up the next generation of athletes. It's what Gigi and Kobe would want us to do," her statement read. "Kobe was the ultimate Girl Dad and Gigi was the ultimate Daddy's Girl."

Lakers owner Jeanie Buss shared what the statue meant to her in an interview with Spectrum Sportsnet. 

"It's deeply personal, but then, all fans love Kobe and Gianna so much that this gives everybody a moment to really have that personal time to reflect as to why they were so important to us," she said. "The Girl Dad movement really took flight when Kobe and Gianna, the relationship that they had, so many dads would tell me, you know, that they wanted to relate through sports to their daughter. Kobe kind of just opened that door and made it possible."

Kobe and Gianna both died about a month after the moment shown in the statue. They were among the nine people killed in a tragic helicopter crash in Calabasas on Jan. 26, 2020. 

This is the second statute of Bryant unveiled by the Lakers this year, the first memorializing his 81-point game against the Toronto Raptors back in 2006. The Lakers hosted a large ceremony on Feb. 8 outside of Crypto.com Arena, where he was honored by his wife, Vanessa, who announced that there would eventually be three statues outside of the world famous venue. 

Both Friday's date, 8/2/24, and the initial unveiling in February, 2/8/24, bear significance to the Bryant family as representations of Kobe and Gianna's basketball numbers. While with the Lakers, for whom he played from 1996 to 2016, Kobe wore both 8 and 24, while Gianna wore number 2. 

Though there is no officially planned date for the third statue's unveiling, it is believed that it will be sometime next NBA season. 

Bryant joined other Laker legends in Elgin Baylor, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Magic Johnson, Jerry West, Shaquille O'Neal as former players with statues outside of the arena. Legendary announcer Chick Hearn also has a statue. 

Popularly known as "Black Mamba," Bryant's Hall of Fame career came entirely with the Purple and Gold. He is the first player in NBA history to have two numbers retired by the same team, after wearing No. 8 from 1996 to 2006, and No. 24 for the rest of his career.

He is the Lakers' all-time leader in points (33,643), games (1,346), minutes played (48,637), field goals (11,719) an 3-pointers (1,827) among many other records. He led them to five NBA Championships, was the NBA's Most Valuable Player in 2008 and was named to 18 All-Star Games. 

Bryant's legacy far surpasses the impact that he had on Lakers fans over his two decades in Los Angeles. His tenacity and passion for basketball, bettering those around him and pushing people to succeed had a profound effect on the entire sports world, and continues to act as inspiration for millions around the planet.