Second Kobe Bryant statue unveiled outside Lakers' arena

LOS ANGELES -- A statue depicting Kobe Bryant and daughter Gianna "Gigi" Bryant was unveiled in a private tented ceremony Friday outside of Crypto.com Arena.

The statue is the second of three planned monuments to the Los Angeles Lakers legend, who died in a tragic helicopter crash along with Gigi and seven others in January 2020.

The first statue, a 19-foot bronze memorial to Bryant's 81-point game against the Toronto Raptors, was unveiled on Feb. 8.

Friday's date (8/2/24) held similar numerology meaning to the February ceremony (2/8/24), representing both of Bryant's uniform numbers (8 and 24) and the No. 2 that 13-year-old Gigi wore on the basketball court.

The statue of the father and daughter is located near the Los Angeles Kings' monument celebrating the team's 50th anniversary. It will be available for the public to visit starting Saturday morning.

Bryant's widow, Vanessa, explained the statue's meaning as part of a statement released by the Lakers.

"We merged two iconic courtside moments of Kobe and Gigi," she said. "Gianna has her gorgeous smile on her face and Kobe is kissing the top of her head while wearing the Philadelphia Eagles beanie that Gigi gifted him for Christmas. He's also wearing a WNBA hoodie he wore courtside to the game with Gigi. Kobe was the first NBA player to wear that orange hoodie to a big game and that was to show his support for Gigi's dreams and for women across all sports. That was a moment he shared with Gigi that will always be a powerful representation of the movement towards equality that was always so important to our family."

A plaque in the foreground of the statue reads "Gianna Bryant, Inspirational Icon for Girls in Sports" and "Kobe Bryant, Proud Supporter of Women in Sports." Underneath that are words from Kobe Bryant: "Gianna is a beast. She's better than I was at her age. She's got it. Girls are amazing. I would have five more girls if I could. I'm a girl dad."

Vanessa Bryant revealed at the February ceremony that the third statue would show her late husband donning his No. 24 Lakers uniform.

The third statue is expected to be unveiled sometime next season, sources told ESPN.