Kobe Bryant Statue

The first of three planned memorials honoring Kobe Bryant outside Crypto.com Arena.

The Kobe Bean Bryant Memorial Statue is a 19-foot (5.8 m) bronze sculpture of American basketball player Kobe Bryant, co-created by artists Julie Rotblatt-Amrany and Omri Amrany. It stands on a plinth in front of Crypto.com Arena in downtown Los Angeles and was unveiled in 2024. It is the first of three planned memorials outside the Lakers' downtown arena.

Quick Facts

Medium: Bronze sculpture
Subject: Kobe Bryant
City: Los Angeles, California, U.S.

Lore & Background

The statue was unveiled on February 8, 2024. It depicts Bryant's right index finger skyward pose after his 81-point game on January 22, 2006, against the Toronto Raptors, with his name and the scorer's report from that game etched into the statue. The back of the statue includes a quote from Bryant: 'Leave the game better than you found it. And when it comes time for you to leave, leave a legend.'

The statue received mixed reactions from fans shortly after its unveiling. Around one month later, fans spotted multiple spelling errors, including 'Jose Calderson' for José Calderón, 'Vom Wafer' for Von Wafer, and 'decicion' for 'decision' in 'Coach's decision.' Bryant's facsimile signature read 'Kobe 24' despite him wearing his white No. 8 uniform. Some fans criticized the statue's face and size.

The Lakers announced plans to correct the errors on March 11, 2024, and completed corrections on April 9, 2024. The second statue, honoring Kobe and Gianna Bryant, was unveiled on August 2, 2024.