Kobe Bryant’s and Gianna’s statue unveiled at the crash site

“Though Kobe Bryant is no longer among us, his legacy will live on.”
It’s been two years since the death of Kobe Bryant, widely regarded as one of the greatest basketball players of all time. During his spectacular two-decade tenure with the Los Angeles Lakers, he rose to fame as the sport’s face.

Two years passed by of the helicopter crash which took away the life of the legend, Kobe Bryant along with his 13-year-old daughter Gianna and seven others. A statue was unveiled at the crash site in their memory today in Calabasas, California. 

Kobe Bryant (1978 – 2020)

Kobe Bryant also known as Black Mamba; was An American basketball player who was widely regarded as one of the game’s all-time greats. His illustrious professional career included five NBA championships with the Los Angeles Lakers, 18 All-Star selections, and two consecutive seasons atop the league’s scoring charts (2005–06 and 2006–07). He announced his retirement after the final regular-season game of the 2015–2016 season. 

On January 26, 2020, Bryant was killed in a helicopter crash while flying with his 13-year-old daughter to a girls basketball game.

Cause of Death

Kobe Bryant, along with his 13-year-old daughter Gianna (Gigi) and seven other people died in the tragic helicopter crash on 26th January 2020. Kobe was heading towards a basketball game at Bryant’s Mamba Sports Academy in Newbury Park. The pilot’s poor decision to fly into thick clouds, where he became disoriented and crashed the helicopter into a Southern California hillside, was blamed by federal safety officials in the helicopter crash that took away the lives of 9 people on board, including the basketball legend Kobe Bryant. 

Orange Coast College baseball coach John Altobelli, his wife Keri Altobelli, and their daughter Alyssa, who was a teammate of Gianna’s, Christina Mauser, who assisted Kobe in coaching his daughter’s basketball team, Sarah Chester and her daughter Payton, who was also a teammate of Gianna’s, and pilot Ara Zobayan were also among the victims.

Kobe Bryant and Gianna’s statue unveiled

The NBA Hall of Famer and loving father of four, with 13-year-old Gianna, was honored with a statue at the site of the horrific tragedy in Calabasas, Los Angeles. Kobe is wearing his L. A Lakers uniform and his hand on Gianna’s shoulder in the statue. The 160-pound statue is sculpted by the artist, Dan Medina. Gianna is also seen wearing her respected uniform while holding a basketball. Their smiling statue has filled the whole world’s hearts, his fans were overwhelmed and thanked the artist for immortalizing the legend. The statue also has the names of all the seven people who tried along with Kobe and Gianna scripted in it. 

“You can come here and it’s so emotional”, Dan Medina remarked in an interview with Los Angeles Times. She further says, “Flowers, shirts, hats, and all these are just so temporary, and I believe we need something more permanent as a memento for the legend of basketball.” Dan Medina, the artist himself, is a big fan of Kobe who really wanted to immortalize the hero as a tribute to him and the ones who lost their souls in that accident. 

Medina also scripted “Heroes come and go, but legends are forever” in the statue. These remarkable lines will forever live just how Kobe will live forever in everyone’s hearts. 

Source: news18.com