The unveiling of the Kobe Bryant statue outside of Crypto.Com Arena was a multi-year endeavor. Bryant retired all the way back in 2016. In 2017, the Los Angeles Lakers retired both his No. 8 and No. 24 jerseys, and even back then, a statue was inevitable. The Laker legend sadly died in a 2020 helicopter accident, and it took another four years for the statue—the first of three that will ultimately be made—to be unveiled to the public. In other words, there was plenty of time to check every last detail.
Yet on Sunday, an eagle-eyed German basketball journalist shared a couple of spelling mistakes he noticed on the statue on Twitter. Those mistakes come on the replica box score of Bryant's 81-point game at the base of the statue. The name of former Laker Von Wafer is spelled "Vom Wafer" on the statue. The name of former Toronto Raptors guard Jose Calderon is spelled "Jose Calderson." Finally, the words "Coach's Decision" are misspelled "Coach's Decicion" next to the name of former Raptor Aaron Williams.
Hm … Kobes Statue mit drei Fehlern? CalderSon, VoM Wafer, DeciCion? What? 😨 pic.twitter.com/5ea6zWuXJ7
— André „Dré“ Voigt (@drevoigt) March 10, 2024
According to ESPN's Dave McMenamin, the Lakers are working to fix the issue.
"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.
Still, a work of art this significant likely has to pass several rounds of inspection before it is ever unveiled. This statue has not just one major mistake, but three, creating an embarrassing situation for the Lakers as they work to correct the statue. Fortunately, the Lakers have two more chances to get it right the first time as there are still two more Bryant statues to come: one of Bryant in his No. 24 uniform and another with his daughter Gianna, who also died in the 2020 helicopter accident.
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