The statue outside the Crypto.com Arena that has been dedicated to the late Lakers legend Kobe Bryant contains numerous spelling errors.
The typos were revealed by German NBA journalist André "Dré" Voigt, who took to X Sunday to post photos depicting the misspellings of two players' names and a word on the plaque marking Kobe's 81-point game against the Toronto Raptors on Jan. 26, 2006, KTLA reported.
Errors were discovered on the engraving of the names of two players, José Calderón from the Raptors, whose last name was misspelled as "Calderson," and Von Wafer from the Lakers, whose first name was incorrectly written as "Vom."
Voigt noted that the names are not misspelled on the official score sheet.
In a statement Monday, a Lakers spokesperson assured ESPN that the errors would be rectified.
"We have been aware of this for a few weeks and are already working to get it corrected soon," the spokesperson said.
Kobe Bryant, who won five NBA championships in his 20-year Hall of Fame career, was traveling with his daughter, Gianna Bryant, to attend one of her youth basketball games in nearby Thousand Oaks, California, at Bryant's Mamba Sports Academy when the helicopter they were traveling in crashed and all aboard died about 14 miles away. He was 41.
According to his widow, Vanessa Bryant, the 19-foot bronze statue portraying Kobe Bryant in his iconic No. 8 jersey is the first of three statues commissioned to commemorate the basketball icon's legacy.
A Lakers spokesperson stated that the location and unveiling date for the remaining two statues — one featuring Kobe Bryant in his No. 24 uniform and the other alongside his daughter, Gianna Bryant, are yet to be finalized.
Zoe Papadakis ✉
Zoe Papadakis is a Newsmax writer based in South Africa with two decades of experience specializing in media and entertainment. She has been in the news industry as a reporter, writer and editor for newspapers, magazine and websites.
© 2025 Newsmax. All rights reserved.