A statue of Kobe Bryant and his daughter Gianna has been placed at the helicopter crash site on the second anniversary of their tragic deaths.
Wednesday (January 26) marked two years since the legendary basketball player and his 13-year-old daughter passed away along with seven others after the aircraft they were travelling on came down on a hillside near Los Angeles.
In honour of the five-time NBA champion and the second of his four children, sculptor Dan Medina carved the pair into bronze statues, weighing 73kg.
It depicts both Kobe and Gianna wearing basketball kits and smiling at one another as Gigi holds Kobe's hand while it rests on her shoulder.
A group of fans took a 1.3 mile hike to the site to see the statues first hand and pay their respects to the sporting great and his daughter.
"This is all on my own, no one asked me to do it," said Medina, who was on hand to greet the fans when they arrived.
"On this day, the second anniversary of the accident, I decided to bring it up from sunrise to sunset and create a bit of a healing process for fans.
"Today was special because I witnessed a lot of that. People would come up and they would leave with some sort of satisfaction."
The names of all nine victims of the crash are engraved on the base of the statue, as well as an inscription of Bryant's famous quote: 'Heroes come and go, but legends are forever'.
Tributes poured in for the LA Lakers icon on the anniversary of his death, as singer Ciara posted on social media: “Forever & Always in our hearts. Kobe & Gigi #2 #24.”
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, who has scored the most points in NBA history, added: "Hey Laker nation, it’s Kareem. … I know many of you are out there and you still miss him, you still wish to see his brilliance on the court.
“And what he was doing as a dad, it was wonderful the way he was coaching girls and getting them into the game.
“I hope all of you out there remember him the way you should and give your prayers to his wife and family."
While another LA Lakers legend Magic Johnson posted: “Kobe left an incredible legacy both on the court and off. We will never forget #8/24!"
