In order to honor the NBA legend Kobe Bryant and his daughter Gianna Bryant, the second statue of Kobe was scheduled to be unveiled on Friday. The statue was set to be placed outside The House that Kobe built and was to be unveiled in a private ceremony. According to the plan, it was to be opened to the public this weekend. However, in a turn of events someone leaked the statue which melted fans’ hearts.

The statue showed Kobe pecking his daughter on the side of her head. “It’s too early to be crying at work,” one fan commented referring to how emotionally moved he was on seeing the statue. Meanwhile, the authorities had decided to disclose the statue on 8/2/2024 since Kobe wore 8 during the initial part of his career before switching to 24 whereas Gigi wore jersey number 2.

Gianna who passed away in the helicopter crash along with Kobe in January 2020 would often be seen outside Crypto.com Arena discussing balling strategies with her father. Additionally, the first statue of Kobe that was unveiled on 2/8/24 also had the same number-symbolism for Kobe. The 19-foot bronze statue memorialized Kobe’s 81-point performance against Toronto in his No. 8 jersey.

Meanwhile, in February, Vanessa Bryant revealed that there will also be a third statue of Kobe which be a tribute to his number 24 jersey. As per reports, it will be unveiled next year. As for his accomplishments, he had become the first player in the NBA to have both his jersey numbers retired by the same team – the Los Angeles Lakers. And now with these statues, Kobe will forever occupy a special place in the hearts of his fans, who took to the social media networking site Instagram to share their emotions.

Fans feel emotional over Kobe’s statue

“You got invited to the private ceremony? You leveling up man. Awesome,” one fan pointed out that the person who had leaked the picture would have been invited to the private ceremony since the statue was to be opened for public viewing from the weekend onwards.

“Hope they got the spelling right,” another fan remarked. The user was most probably referring to the first statue that had misspelled names of NBA players José Calderón and Von Waferon on the base along with typos on the word “Coach’s Decision.” This time fans did not want to see any such mistake.

“Omg this made me tear up. 🥺🤍 I love it. So beautiful,” another netizen stated. The user was most probably pointing out the fact that the statue showed a heartfelt moment from Kobe’s conversation with his daughter. Since both were loved celebrities, this brought back nostalgia to the social media user.

“Damn man. Breaks my fucking heart. Live now Laker Family. You just never know,” another netizen commented. Kobe had been 5x NBA Champion with the Lakers and his position in the franchise was such that he had both his jersey numbers retired by the Lakers.

“8/2/24 💛💜♾️,” another admirer stated referring to the fact that the date showcased his jersey numbers 8 and 24 while 2 was Gigi’s jersey number. Hence, the date of unveiling was as special as the statue itself.

Stay tuned for more such updates and join us for the exciting pilot episode of the “Dual Threat Show” as our host BG12 sits down with Georgia Bulldogs star and SEC All-Freshman Team Selection, Silas Demary Jr.