Murals honoring Lakers legend Kobe Bryant are everywhere.
In downtown Los Angeles, where Bryant played at Staples Center (now Crypto.com Arena) for 20 seasons.
In Orange County, where Bryant lived in Newport Coast with his wife, Vanessa, and their four daughters.
Along Melrose Avenue, nerve center of street artists.
In empty buildings and on the walls of stores and other businesses.
In parks and schoolyards.
In alleys and along the coast.
The website Kobemural.com lists nearly 350 such murals in Southern California, plus hundreds more around the world. Most of them rose after the helicopter crash on January 26, 2020, which killed Bryant, his 13-year-old daughter Gianna, and seven other people (John, Keri and Alyssa Altobelli; Payton and Sarah Chester; Christina Mauser; and Ara Zobayan).
“Kobe and the Bryant family gave us so much, and now it’s artists’ chance to give back, their chance to be creative and give back, give people places to go,” said Mike Asner, creator of Kobemural.com, to The Times in a recent telephone interview.
“And that’s the most important thing I learned from talking to fans and artists, especially during COVID: people needed a place to go to cry, to show respect. It was something that people needed and continue to do. “People still travel to Los Angeles and visit, which is pretty amazing.”
Visiting all the murals honoring Bryant (and often Gianna, too) would be a daunting task, but if you want to pay your respects on the fourth anniversary of his death, here are 24 murals in Los Angeles County and eight in Los Angeles County. Orange (in honor of the two jersey numbers Bryant wore with the Lakers) to visit.
Again, this is a small sample of what’s out there, so keep your eyes peeled: chances are you’ll come across other gorgeous Kobe and Gigi wall art along the way.
