The new Kobe Bryant statue outside of Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles will be updated after various spelling errors were discovered in the etching surrounding the sculpture's base, as per a report in NBC News.
Basketball reporter Dre Voigt shared images of spelling mistakes he discovered on the statue honouring the Los Angeles Lakers icon, which shows a box score from Bryant's 81-point game against the Toronto Raptors in 2006. It also includes spelling errors in the names of Jose Calderon and Von Wafer in a replica box score on the statue. In addition to spelling Wafer's first name "Vom" rather than "Von," the word "decision" is also spelt wrong. Further, Calderon's last name is "Calderson." The list of Kobe Bryant's career accomplishments had been formatted incorrectly on another side of the base.
The sculpture depicts Kobe Bryant striking a posture during the historic game, in which he scored the second-most points of any player in NBA history.
A Laker's spokesperson said that they are already working to fix the issue. "We have been aware of this for a few weeks and are already working to get it corrected soon," he said in a statement.
The 19-foot, 4,000-pound bronze statue was unveiled on February 8 to commemorate his number 8 jersey. It is one of the three planned tributes to the five-time NBA Champion.
Kobe Bryant died in a helicopter crash with his daughter Gianna and seven others in January 2020. His wife, Vanessa, said that the two other statues will feature the father-daughter duo and the other will have the basketball player in his number 24 jersey.
