Fans gathered at Crypto.com Arena in downtown Los Angeles Friday to see the newly-unveiled statue of Kobe Bryant.
KNX News’ Nataly Tavidian reported that the crowd outside the arena was full of love and respect for the L.A. icon.
“We don’t want to go home,” one fan said. “You feel his energy here,”
The statue depicts Bryant in his white #8 Lakers jersey, his right index finger pointing up to the sky, after his 81-point game in 2006. Bryant himself chose the pose for the statue, his widow Vanessa said Thursday during the statue’s unveiling.
“It was a really great representation of the culture for me, like, one of the best games of his career,” a fan named Manuel said. “And also that day his grandma was at the game, too, and that was the only time that she went to see him.”
This is the first of three statues honoring Bryant planned for the arena.
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