First of three Kobe Bryant statues unveiled outside Lakers' arena in emotional ceremony

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Kobe Bryant’s widow, Vanessa, members of the Lakers front office, and others gathered in downtown Los Angeles on Thursday to honor one of the greatest players in NBA history.

A 19-foot, 4,000-pound bronze statue of Bryant was unveiled outside of Crypto.com Arena following a heartfelt ceremony. The larger-than-life statue showed Bryant wearing his No. 8 Lakers jersey and pointing toward the sky. Bryant made the gesture when he left the basketball court following his career-best 81-point performance in 2006.

A sculpture honoring Bryant had been in the works prior to his untimely death. Following his retirement, he worked with the franchise during the planning phase of an anticipated statue, according to a 2023 news release from the Lakers.

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Feb 8, 2024; Los Angeles, CA, USA; A statue for former Los Angeles Lakers guard Kobe Bryant is unveiled during a ceremony at Star Plaza outside of Crypto.com Arena. (Jason Parkhurst-USA TODAY Sports)

During Thursday's ceremony, Vanessa confirmed that the Lakers great selected the pose for his statue.

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"For the record, Kobe picked the pose you’re about to see," she said. 

Vanessa also expressed gratitude for the countless number of fans who supported her husband, saying, "This moment isn’t just for Kobe, but it’s for all of you that have been rooting for him all of these years."

The bronze statue was created by sculptor Julie Rotblatt Amrany.

Bryant died in a helicopter crash along with his daughter, Gianna, on Jan. 26, 2020. There were seven others on