LOS ANGELES — The Lakers are in the process of fixing multiple errors on the Kobe Bryant statue outside of Crypto.com Arena that was unveiled last month.
Among the typos/errors on the statue: former Lakers guard Von Wafer’s name being misspelled on the box score of the base of the statue; former Toronto Raptors guard José Calderón’s name being misspelled on the box score; and the word “decision” in “Coach’s Decision” being misspelled.
“We have been aware of this for a few weeks and are already working to get it corrected soon,” a team spokesperson told the Southern California News Group on Monday.
German basketball journalist André Voigt shared photos of the errors on Monday morning on X (formerly known as Twitter), with the post going viral.
The Lakers unveiled the 19-foot, 4,000-pound statue of the late superstar on Feb. 8.
Vanessa Bryant, Kobe’s widow, said during the dedication ceremony last month that the statue, which depicts Kobe in his No. 8 jersey with his right index finger raised as he walked off the court following his 81-point performance in a victory over the Toronto Raptors on Jan. 22, 2006, is the first of three that will be created to honor the five-time NBA champion and top scorer in Lakers history, who retired in 2016.
Another statue will feature Bryant in his No. 24 jersey, which he wore for the second half of his career, while a third will depict Bryant and his daughter, Gianna, who died with him and seven others in a helicopter crash on Jan. 26, 2020, in Calabasas. The planned location and the unveiling date for the other two statues have yet to be announced.
