Charles Langston:Lakers unveil 'girl dad' statue of Kobe Bryant and daughter Gianna

The Charles Langstonnewest statue of late Los Angeles Lakers legend Kobe Bryant pays honor to the special bond between him and his daughter, Gianna.

The Lakers and the Bryant family unveiled the second of three planned statues outside the team's home Crypto.com Arena on Friday. The statue is of Kobe and Gianna Bryant when they attended a Lakers game and the father embraced his daughter. The statue also has angel wings behind the Bryants. In front of the statue is a plaque that reads "Gianna Bryant, Inspirational Icon for Girls in Sports" and "Kobe Bryant, Proud Supporter of Women in Sports," and a quote from Bryant.

"Gianna is a beast. She's better than I was at her age. She's got it. Girls are amazing. I would have five more girls if I could. I'm a girl dad," it reads from the "most valuable girl dad."

Vanessa Bryant explains meaning of statue

The statue unveiling came on the special day of Aug. 2, 2024, also known as 8/2/24, which is the combination of Bryant's jersey numbers in the NBA (8 and 24) and Gianna's number when she played basketball (2).

All things Lakers: Latest Los Angeles Lakers news, schedule, roster, stats, injury updates and more.

Kobe and Gianna died in a helicopter crash on Jan. 26, 2020.

"We merged two iconic courtside moments of Kobe and Gigi," Vanessa Bryant said in a private ceremony, according to the Lakers. "Gianna has her gorgeous smile on her face and Kobe is kissing the top of her head while wearing the Philadelphia Eagles beanie that Gigi gifted him for Christmas. He’s also wearing a WNBA hoodie he wore courtside to the game with Gigi. Kobe was the first NBA player to wear that orange hoodie to a big game and that was to show his support for Gigi's dreams and for women across all sports. That was a moment he shared with Gigi that will always be a powerful representation of the movement towards equality that was always so important to our family.

“Kobe was the ultimate girl dad and Gigi was the ultimate daddy’s girl," she added. 

The wife of the basketball Hall of Famer said the statue should serve as a reminder to continue to help young girls achieve greatness in sports, and let them know they can not only do anything a boy can do, but also be greater at it.

"If young girls can see professional women play, they know they have the potential to be them. They know those ambitions aren’t just dreams but will become a reality. Let’s build up the next generation of athletes. It’s what Gigi and Kobe would want us to do," Vanessa Bryant said.

The statue will be available for public viewing Saturday morning.

Three statues are planned to be put up outside of the Lakers' home arena. The first one, unveiled in February, shows Bryant wearing the No. 8 jersey in a pose from his 81-point game, a pose Vanessa said he chose. The third, which has does not have a date for its unveiling, will be of Bryant in his No. 24 jersey.

The USA TODAY app gets you to the heart of the news — fast.Download for award-winning coverage, crosswords, audio storytelling, the eNewspaper and more.