The Los Angeles Lakers say they are correcting several errors on a statue dedicated to their late star, Kobe Bryant.
A tweet by a German journalist went viral on Monday after it highlighted mistakes on the statue, including misspellings of the names of Jose Calderon and Von Wafer in a section on Bryant’s 81-point game against the Toronto Raptors. Calderon’s name is given as “Calderson” on the statue, while Von Wafer becomes “Vom Wafer”. There is also a formatting error among the Hall of Famer’s career accomplishments and a reference to a coaching “decicion”.
“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 on Monday.
Bryant played for the Lakers for his entire 20-year NBA career, becoming one of the most popular players in franchise history. He was killed in a helicopter crash alongside his daughter, Gianna, in 2020.
The 19-foot bronze statue of Bryant was unveiled last month outside the Lakers’ Crypto.com Arena. Bryant’s widow, Vanessa, said two other statues of Bryant are planned, one of which will feature Gianna. The Lakers have yet to decide on a location for the final two statues.
