A statue of the late basketball legend Kobe Bryant and his daughter Gianna, who died in a helicopter crash along with seven others, was placed at the site on the two-year anniversary of their deaths.
The bronze statue unveiled on Wednesday depicts Kobe with his arm around Gigi’s shoulder as she holds a basketball. The sculpture shows the father, wearing a Los Angeles Lakers No 24 jersey, and his daughter smiling at each other.
Inscribed on the base of the statue along with Kobe and Gianna’s names are those of the seven other victims: John Altobelli, Keri Altobelli, Alyssa Altobelli, Christina Mauser, Sarah Chester, Payton Chester, Ara Zobayan.
‘It’s been two years,’ the sculptor Dan Medina wrote on Instagram in sharing an image. ‘Rest in peace…’
Kobe, 41, Gianna, 13, and the other victims were in a helicopter over Calabasas, California, on January 26, 2020, when it crashed into the mountainside. They were flying to a girls basketball tournament at Kobe’s Mamba Sports Academy. Kobe, who retired from the NBA in 2016, coached Gianna’s team and they had a game scheduled that afternoon. Gigi and three of her teammates were among the nine killed.
Medina said he was not asked to create the piece, but rather felt compelled to help bring peace to many Kobe fans.
‘I decided to bring it up for the day from sunrise to sunset and kind of create a bit of a human process for fans, and today was special because I witnessed a lot of that,’ Median told FOX 11.
‘People would come up and they would leave with some sort of satisfaction, knowing that something is going to be done.’
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