How artists worldwide continue to honor Kobe Bryant's legacy - ESPN

LOS ANGELES — On the day of Kobe Bryant's death in Jan. 2020, the plaza outside of Crypto.com Arena overflowed with people. Fans placed tributes everywhere. Flowers covered the ground. Tears replaced words.

A stunned silence overcame the venue's entertainment complex as it offered a place for Bryant fans to pay their respects and grieve together. In the hours and days after his passing, Los Angeles Lakers and Bryant fans found comfort in another avenue — art.

In a Miami neighborhood, Gustavo Zermeño Jr. painted Bryant twice. One mural depicted Mamba side-by-side with Dwyane Wade, the other with the Lakers legend dribbling alone.

In Brooklyn, Efren Andaluz painted a mural of Bryant and his daughter Gianna in front of Barclays Center — the last road arena where the father and daughter watched an NBA game. Andaluz also included the names of everyone that died in the helicopter crash that took Bryant and Gianna's lives.

Set on a wall with graded gates at an intersection near the Atlantic Avenue-Barclays Center Station, one of the busiest subways in Brooklyn, people loved it.

«People would come in, they would talk to me about Kobe, how much he meant to them, his mentality,» Andaluz told ESPN. «Some people were like well, why am I putting Kobe there? And then other people just understood, like it's Kobe. Kobe can go wherever he wants to go.»

Minutes away from Crypto.com Arena, Louie Palsino worked on a mural of Bryant and Gianna with angel wings attached to their bodies.

Fans from across the world came to watch Palsino paint. They brought him food and Bryant gear as they remembered the former Laker through their tears. One of Palsino's friends thanked him for what he was doing for the city.

«People came and were crying and I