Los Angeles Lakers fans should mark their calendars for Feb. 8, 2024. That is the day that the franchise is scheduled to unveil a statue honoring the late great Kobe Bryant outside of Crypto.com Arena.
The announcement came just days ago, which has sparked a debate about which pose or moment should be immortalized in the statue.
Should it be Bryant celebrating on the scorer’s table after the Lakers defeated the Boston Celtics in Game 7 of the 2020 NBA Finals to win their second straight world championship? Should it be Bryant acknowledging the crowd right after scoring 81 points? Or should it be a pose of Bryant completing one of his highlight dunks?
Former teammate Robert Horry has a unique idea of what the Black Mamba’s statue should look like.
Via SportsKeeda:
“It’s going to be the most unique statue there is. You think about Kareem’s skyhook, Shaq’s dunk and Magic’s passes. But whoever designs this one has a lot of pressure (laughs). That thing has to be perfect. You’ll have young Kobe on one side and the older Kobe on the other side. 8/24. It’s fitting. Since he has two jerseys retired, it will almost have to be like Two-Face. You have to think about the young and hungry Kobe as well as the wise and mature Kobe.
“There are so many iconic moments that he has. He didn’t have one patented move. He had fifty of them. It’s going to be hard. If I had the choice, it would be something with his fist balled up. The picture that people love the most is of Kobe standing on the table with his arms stretched out [after the Lakers beat the Celtics in the 2010 NBA Finals]. But for me, anytime he had his fist pumped, it meant that he was fired up or the job was done.”
“Two-Face” is a reference to one of Batman’s villains that appeared in a few of the movies depicting the DC Comics superhero.
No matter what Bryant’s statue looks like once it is ultimately revealed, it is likely going to be the most popular one outside the Lakers’ home, especially for Millennials and members of Gen-Z who grew up watching him.
