KOBE BRYANT STATUE HAS GLARING TYPOS

At least three words in base misspelled

Several spelling errors have been found on a statue honouring the late Kobe Bryant.

The nearly six-metre high bronze sculpture, unveiled on Feb. 8 outside Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles, depicts Bryant in a post-game celebration after he scored 81 points against the Toronto

Raptors in January 2006.

It is the second-highest single game scoring record in NBA history, trailing only Wilt Chamberlain’s 100-point game, which was recorded in March 1962.

The game’s box score is etched into the marble base of the statue. Earlier this week, German basketball journalist André Voigt posted a series of viral photos on X, formerly Twitter, that showed at least three typos in the box score, including the name of José Calderón, one of the longest tenured Raptors in franchise history.

Calderón’s name is misspelled as “Jose Calderson,” while former Laker Von Wafer’s name reads “Vom Wafer.” The word decision, in “Coach’s Decision,” is also misspelled as “decicion.”

In a statement to ESPN, a Lakers spokesperson said they have been aware of the errors “for a few weeks” and are working to get them corrected soon.

The statue was designed by Omri Amrany and Julie

Rotblatt-amrany, whose other sports commissions include the famed monument of Michael Jordan outside of Chicago’s United Center, as well as sculptures of Barry Sanders, Fergie Jenkins, David Beckham and Gordie Howe, among many others.

Two more statues have reportedly been commissioned to honour Bryant, including one featuring him and his late daughter, Gianna, who died alongside him in a 2020 helicopter crash.

FREDERIC J. BROWN / AFP VIA GETTY IMAGES The Kobe Bryant statue, unveiled to the public outside the Crypto.com Arena last month, features a number of spelling errors in the box score etched into the statue’s marble base. The Lakers say they are working to get them corrected.