“They Should Be Shamed”: ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith Thrashes Creator Behind Kobe Bryant Statue Error

Kobe Bryant’s monument, outside the Crypto.Com Arena, took several years to complete. It was 2016 when Bryant finally called it quits. As early as 2017, when the Los Angeles Lakers retired his No. 8 and No. 24 jerseys, a monument was already in the works. 

Recently, fans discovered spelling mistakes, some more noticeable than others, on the Kobe Bryant monument one month after its jubilant presentation outside of Crypto.com Arena.

In a recent interview, Stephen A. Smith was asked about the mistakes made in the statue. He said, “Bad look. Um, I love the Lakers organization. And the person who made those errors um I’m not going to say they should be you know fired or anything like that. But my God you know they should be shamed into making sure that they don’t make that kind of errors again.”

This is a developing story.

Yet, on the side of the 19-foot bronze sculpture rests the official scorer’s report from the 2006 game. In that match, Kobe struck a posture after scoring 81 points against Toronto. The gesture served as inspiration for the sculpture. 

Read More: Kobe Bryant Never Followed 1 Crucial Rule Despite Winning 5 NBA Rings, as Per Ex-Lakers Teammate

The Lakers are now attempting to fix the several mistakes on the Kobe Bryant statue

The four-thousand-pound sculpture depicts Bryant exiting the court in January 2006 after scoring 81 points against the Toronto Raptors in his white No. 8 jersey. He raises his right index finger in a gesture of celebration. 

Two players, including a former Toronto guard named José Calderón, had his name misspelled as “Jose Calderson” on the list while it was being created. Also, it should have been “Vom Wafer” instead of “Vakeaton Quamar Von Wafer”, the name of a former Laker. 

After playing for the Lakers for 20 years straight, Bryant announced his retirement in 2016. With 33,643 points, he is the fourth-leading scorer in NBA history. Among his achievements are two MVP honors and 18 nominations to the NBA All-Star team.

It took four years for the public to view the first of three monuments following the Laker Great’s helicopter accident in 2020. Simply put, there was an ample amount of time to double-check everything.

Dave McMenamin of ESPN reports that the Lakers are now attempting to resolve the matter. “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 to McMenamin.

Since the Lakers have two more Bryant sculptures to commission—one in his No. 24 jersey and another with his daughter Gianna, who died in the 2020 helicopter crash—they have time to do it correctly.

Read More: Failure to Create Pistons History Left Ex-Lakers Star With Struggling Thoughts of NBA Retirement