Several weeks ago, a statue with the likeness of late Los Angeles Lakers legend Kobe Bryant was unveiled just outside of Crypto.com Arena. It was a fitting tribute to the man who helped give the arena a winning aura, and it depicted Bryant acknowledging the crowd immediately after scoring 81 points in a January 2006 game.
Fans have flocked to the statue since it was opened to the public. However, even the best artists make mistakes, and it turns out the Bryant statue has three spelling errors.
Two are misspellings of the names of players from the Toronto Raptors, the team Bryant victimized when he scored 81 points. The other is a misspelling of “coach’s decision.”
It seems like Kobe Bryant's statue has misspelled 'Jose Calderon,' 'Von Wafer,' and 'Coach's Decision.' 😬
(h/t @drevoigt ) pic.twitter.com/Xg2DFRHltS
— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) March 11, 2024
A spokesman for the Lakers said the organization will fix those flaws.
Via ESPN:
“We have been aware of this for a few weeks and are already working to get it corrected soon,” a Lakers spokesperson said in a statement on Monday.
Bryant’s 81-point performance was as iconic a performance as any he had while wearing jersey No. 8 from his rookie season through the 2005-06 campaign. Two more statues with his likeness have already been announced: one will depict him wearing No. 24 while the other one will show him with his daughter Gianna.
Both the elder and younger Bryant were killed in a tragic helicopter crash in January 2020, just outside of Los Angeles County.
