What to Know
- Aug. 24 is Kobe Bryant Day
- The date was chosen as a tribute to the basketball legend's jersey numbers, and as a moving ode to his birthday (which is the day before, Aug. 23)
- People have been sharing photos of the Kobe and Gianna Bryant murals around Southern California in tribute to the iconic athlete and his daughter
A successful free throw can happen in a few spectacular, gasp-inducing seconds, while a detailed mural, the sort of large-scale artwork that can creatively cover a full side of a building, takes days or even weeks to roll out.
But both a perfectly realized shot and a beautiful mural ultimately take time to craft well.
And the many fans of superb athleticism and moving visual tributes are making time to remember Kobe Bryant on Aug. 24, 2021, both by sharing memories online and calling upon the many murals around town that pay moving tribute to the iconic athlete and his daughter Gianna.
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If you've been hoping to pay tribute in your own way on the day that was chosen in honor of the basketball champion's jersey numbers (8 and 24), or at some point during his birthday week (Kobe Bryant was born on Aug. 23, 1978), you can do so in a few different and meaningful ways.
A good start? Following the map provided at the Kobe Murals site, which keeps track of the hundreds of alfresco paintings created in NBA luminary's honor, with several murals also paying heartfelt respect to Gianna's memory, too.
One of the newest murals, created by artist Jonas Never and located at 1020 Mission Street in South Pasadena, was unveiled by the South Pasadena Arts Council in a special ceremony on Saturday, Aug. 21.
The mission of the Kobe Murals site? "To promote artists and organize locations of all public Kobe and Gianna Bryant art murals in Los Angeles and around the world. This is a free resource, dedicated to the fans and those we lost."
Find the full map here, and discover what free-to-see works are right in your neighborhood, or nearby.
If you can't get out to admire the murals on Mamba Day, there are other ways to connect to the meaning of the moment.
The Lakers have posted on social media in Kobe Bryant's honor on both Aug. 23 and 24, with fantastic photos and recollections popping up every few hours.
And one of the sweetest of the posts? It might just be this one. The Lakers and UCLA Health presented "special care packages" to adorable newborns in honor of the athlete's birthday.
Lakers T-shirts and a note were included in the package, the sort of scrapbook-worthy letter that will be revisited for years to come.
"Lakers family is for life," concludes the welcome-to-the-world missive.
The basketball great, his daughter, and seven other people were killed in a helicopter crash near Calabasas on Jan. 26, 2020.
To read more about the recent resolution introduced to honor Kobe Bryant Day in Orange County, click.
