Kobe Bryant Statue Set for Unveiling Four Years After Death: What We Know

Four years ago, the news broke to a disbelieving sports world that a helicopter carrying former Los Angeles Lakers star Kobe Bryant, his daughter Gianna and seven others had gone down in California, killing everyone on board.

In August, Bryant's widow, Vanessa, and the Lakers announced that Bryant's statue—which was an inevitability long before he died—was set to be unveiled on February 8.

"As you know, Kobe played his entire 20-year NBA career as a Los Angeles Laker," Vanessa said in a video posted to social media.

She went on: "Since arriving in this city and joining the Lakers organization, he felt at home here, playing in the City of Angels. On behalf of the Lakers, my daughters and me, I am so honored that, right in the center of Los Angeles, in front of the place known as the house that Kobe built, we are going to unveil his statue so that his legacy can be celebrated forever."

Here's what we know about the statue:

Bryant Helped Plan It Before His Death

Bryant participated in the planning of his statue before his death, according to the Lakers. Presumably, that means that whatever pose has been immortalized for the statue was approved by Bryant himself.

"Kobe Bryant was one of the most extraordinary athletes of all time, and one of the most iconic individuals in the history of Los Angeles," Lakers co-owner Jeanie Buss said in a statement in August.

"There is no better place for Kobe to be honored with a statue than here, at the center of our city, where everyone can celebrate him and be inspired by his incredible achievements," she said.

The Date Is Highly Significant

Bryant switched numbers midway through his career, going from 8 (which added up the numerals in his Adidas camp number 143) to 24 (his number at Lower Merion High School) to signify a clean slate after the Lakers traded Shaquille O'Neal in 2004.

Both "8" and "24" are represented in the date of the unveiling (2/8/2024). The "2" of February, meanwhile, honors Gianna, who wore the number while playing youth basketball.

The Statue's Creator

Julie Rotblatt-Amrany is a sculptor and painter who has created statues for other athletes, including Dirk Nowitzki, A'ja Wilson and Bob Cousy, as well as statues for Shaquille O'Neal and Elgin Baylor that will stand near Bryant's outside the Lakers' Crypto.com Arena in downtown Los Angeles when it is unveiled.

Rotblatt-Amrany's artistic work focuses on space.

"Since infinite space surrounds us, I am intrigued by the concept of ambiguous spaces, such as space within space, suggestive of multidimensional space, and interstitial space, the space between matter," Rotblatt-Amrany wrote about her work in a statement on her website.

"Energy and space make up our universe..... I hope to always explore space in all its dimensions and wonders; it is a limitless investigation," she said.

Statue Appears to Stand Ahead of Others

A space for Bryant's statue appears to be cordoned off outside Crypto.com Arena in front of some of the other statues and next to Magic Johnson. Newsweek reached out to the Lakers by email for confirmation.

Appropriately, the space is in the shape of a triangle, which doubles as the name of the offense run by legendary Lakers coach Phil Jackson, who led the Lakers to five championships alongside Bryant.