Artist Honors Kobe Bryant And Daughter Gianna With Temporary Statue On Anniversary Of Their Deaths

Jan 27, 2022 by apost team

Exactly two years since Kobe Bryant, his 13-year-old daughter Gianna and seven others died in a helicopter crash in Calabasas, California, Los Angeles-based sculptor Dan Medina dragged a 150-pound bronze statue of the basketball legend and his daughter up into the Santa Monica mountains to a makeshift memorial. The shrine — fans have placed jerseys, hats and other memorabilia in remembrance of Bryant — is where the helicopter crashed two years prior.

The bronze statue, which depicts Bryant in a Laker’s uniform alongside his daughter, was only temporary — to be displayed from sunrise to sundown on Jan. 26, 2022 — as Medina hadn’t received permits to place the monument long-term.

“I kind of want to follow the law, respect the locals, respect the Santa Monica Mountains,” Medina explained in an interview with the LA Times.

Nevertheless, Medina’s statue was the center of the memorial on that day. The statue’s inscription reads, “Heroes come and go but legends are forever.”

“You come up here and it is kind of emotional,” Medina told the paper. “The flowers, the jerseys, the hats blow away, and I think we need something more permanent.”

Medina adds that he is also working on a larger life-sized sculpture, which he hopes he can display in downtown LA.

Bryant, his daughter Gianna and seven others died in a helicopter crash in January 2020, which led to an outpouring of support and collective heartbreak for fans around the world. Before his death, Kobe was considered among the best basketball players of all time. With more than five NBA championships and one MVP award under his belt, the basketball phenom retired with over 30,000 career points, the third-highest in the NBA’s history, according to The Guardian.

Before rising to become one of the greatest basketball players of all time, Kobe grew up in a basketball family, with his father Joe “Jellybean” Bryant playing for La Salle University and for the NBA’s Philadelphia 76ers. Following in his father’s basketball footsteps, Kobe played in high school, skipped college and joined the NBA before he was even 18 years old. Since that fateful beginning, Kobe became a basketball legend, winning Olympic gold and carrying the Lakers to win title after title.

“He was more than a basketball player. He gave 100% at everything he did. He won an Oscar, was a business leader and above all else an example to fathers everywhere,” said 23-year-old Brandon Zamora, who climbed up the Santa Monica Mountain trail to pay his respects on Wednesday.

Other Bryant fans who made the trek have personal memories of the basketball star.

“My son and I met Kobe, and I told my son it would be something he would remember for the rest of his life,” said Jesus Avila, a North Hollywood resident who visited Medina’s statue on Wednesday. “I came here to celebrate his life, not to mourn.”

Avila placed a photo of himself, his son and Bryant alongside the memorial. 

According to the LA Times, Bryant’s helicopter took off from an Orange County airport just after 9 a.m. on Jan. 26, 2020. The aircraft, which carried Gianna and some of her teammates, was headed to nearby Thousand Oaks for a tournament at the Mamba Sports Academy. 

But the helicopter’s pilot lost control and crashed.

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The LA Times further reports that a National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) investigation found the pilot, Ara Zobayan, partly at fault for the crash. The safety board concluded that Zobayan, “likely” under self-induced pressure, flew into cloudy conditions, which eventually led to what aviation experts call “spatial disorientation.”

“Also known as spatial-d, it occurs when a pilot flying in low visibility due to clouds, fog or darkness cannot see a horizon and their senses conflict with the reality of their position,” a reporter for the LA Times explains.

“Our inner ear can give us a false sense of orientation,” added Dr. Dujuan Sevillian of the NTSB.

Medina’s bronze statue isn’t the only way Bryant fans are remembering the sports legend.

According to kobemural.com, there are over 600 public Bryant and Gianna murals across the globe, with most located in Los Angeles.

And in February 2020, there was a massive public memorial service for the basketball star held at Crpyto.com Arena (formerly Staples Center).

The two-hour celebration of Bryant’s life saw performances from Beyoncé Knowles and Alicia Keys — not to mention speeches from Shaquille O’Neal, Michael Jordan and Kobe’s widow, Vanessa Bryant.

“Kobe and I have been together since I was 17-and-a-half years old. I was his first girlfriend, his first love, his wife, his best friend, his confidant and his protector,” Vanessa said at the time. “He was the most amazing husband. Kobe loved me more than I could ever express or put into words. He was the early bird and I was the night owl, I was fire and he was ice, and vice versa at times. We balanced each other out. He would do anything for me.”

Rest in peace, Kobe Bryant. What do you think of Medina’s memorial? Let us know — and pass this story on to others.