Kobe Bryant Statue: Anthony Davis Leads Lakers’ Heartwarming Tribute For Late NBA Legend

It is the house that Kobe Bryant built. Regardless of what you call it, the Crypto.com Arena or the Staples Center. Beyond that, it is the place that birthed the Mamba. In just a couple of days, this sentiment will be immortalized. The Los Angeles Lakers arena will unveil a bronze statue in honor of Kobe outside the venue on Thursday.

In anticipation of this monumental gesture, the Lakers’ organization recently released a video featuring Anthony Davis, D’Angelo Russell, Austin Reaves, and other members of the Lakers roster reminiscing about their favorite Kobe Bryant moments. The video captures the essence of Bryant’s impact on the generations and fellow athletes, radiating the deep admiration they still hold for him.

For Anthony Davis, Bryant’s memory comes indirectly experienced through his daughter, Nala Davis. Recalling his time spent training at the recently opened Mamba Sports Academy (now renamed Sports Academy) in 2018, Davis reminisced about Bryant playing with Nala, who was six months old at the time. The 30-year-old explained, “I was working out. Came up there and he was just playing with my daughter. She was gravitated to him right away, laughing and joking.”

He shared that Kobe even said, “Whenever she is ready, you know, she’s a Mambacita.” For Anthony Davis, this is a special memory that he holds so close and even has a video from the day saved on his phone. Several players highlighted Kobe Bryant’s highlight reel performances as their favorite memory. However, D’Angelo Russell had a unique one.

Watching Kobe Bryant in action, on and off-court

For many younger players like Max Christie, Austin Reaves, Gabe Vincent, Jalen Hood-Schifino, and Maxwell Lewis, their favorite memories revolved around watching Kobe’s excellence on the court, especially his last game against the Utah Jazz where he dropped 60 points through sheer determination. For Christian Wood and Taurean Prince, however, it was their first time meeting the legend in the flesh during their rookie years.

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Out of all the players, the one who had the opportunity to play alongside Kobe was D’Angelo Russell. His rookie year with the Lakers was Bryant’s last season. By this time, Kobe had begun taking up projects besides basketball, including storybooks for kids and the Oscar-winning short film “Dear Basketball,” narrated by Bryant himself. Russell watched the veteran dedicate all his time after games to his work, adding, “Seeing his work habit translate from basketball to working on the books and stories… He was always locked into his craft. He always had his iPad working on those scripts…” As the Lakers prepare to honor Kobe Bryant with the statue, they also have other tributes lined up.

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LeBron & Co. will sport the special Black Mamba uniforms, co-designed by Kobe himself against the Nuggets tomorrow. The jerseys made their debut as the team’s first City Edition uniforms back in the 2017-18 season and feature a snakeskin-like black print with drop shadows on the jersey numbers. The next time the Lakers donned them was during the 2020 NBA Playoffs. During that playoff run, the Lakers only suffered one defeat while wearing the Black Mamba uniforms, ultimately lifting their 17th championship.

With all the memories from the players, what is your favorite one of Kobe? Let us know in the comments!