Lakers’ Kobe Bryant Statue Revealed To Have Multiple Errors

The Los Angeles Lakers recently revealed a statue of the late Kobe Bryant. The statue features Bryant standing and holding his finger in the #1 sign from his 81-point game, but the text below the NBA great is what has caught many fans’ attention. The text on the base of the statue includes the box score of the famous game but with multiple errors, specifically four names and words spelled incorrectly.

“We have been aware of this for a few weeks and are already working to get it corrected soon,” a Lakers spokesperson said in a statement on Monday.

Of the misspelling issues on the statute are the names of NBA players Von Wafer (spelled Vom Wafer) and Jose Calderon (spelled Jose Calderson). The term “DNP – Coach’s Decision” was also featured in the text for the game’s box score, but instead the word “decision” was misspelled as “decicion” twice. Though the statue was originally unveiled on Feb. 8, the errors were only noticed this week by a German basketball journalist.

The statue itself is a 19-foot tall depiction of Bryant in his #8 jersey following his legendary game against the Toronto Raptors in 2006, which currently sits outside of Crypto.com Arena. It is one of three statues that have been commissioned by the team in partnership with his wife, Vanessa Bryant. Of the other two, one will feature Bryant in the #24 jersey and the other will feature him with his late daughter Gianna.

Though the statue does contain multiple errors, another side of the base includes a quote from Bryant free of any misspellings or punctuation issues.

“Leave the game better than you found it,” it reads. “And when it comes time for you to leave, leave a legend.”

Following his 20-year career with the team, Bryant is the seventh individual to be represented in the Lakers’ Star Plaza. The only others with a statue are Chick Hearn, Elgin Baylor, Jerry West, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Magic Johnson and Shaquille O’Neal. 

Article by Eli Gregorski