“I came here to celebrate his life, not to mourn. Avila, who was decked out in his Lakers Bryant jersey with the number 24 on the back, placed a photo of the trio from that day on the makeshift memorial. “My son and I met Kobe, and I told my son it would be something he would remember for the rest of his life,” said Jesus Avila, 45, of North Hollywood. His role as a father came up time and time again as small groups of fans made their way to the turn in the trail where it all came to an end. Vanessa Bryant took to Instagram Tuesday with a shot in front of a new mural in Philadelphia dedicated to her late husband Kobe Bryant and their daughter Gigi. He won an Oscar, was a business leader and above all else an example to fathers everywhere,” Zamora said. Zobayan’s “likely” self-induced pressure to get Bryant to his destination and inadequate review of safety management procedures by the helicopter operator were found to have contributed to the crash.īrandon Zamora, 23, standing before the statue, said the 20-minute climb up the trail on the second anniversary was the least he could do for Bryant, who did so much for L.A. Lakers legend Kobe Bryant will be inducted posthumously into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame on Saturday.Ī National Transportation Safety Board investigation determined that Zobayan’s decision to fly under visual flight rules in cloudy conditions resulted in his spatial disorientation and loss of control of the aircraft. Sports Complete coverage: Kobe Bryant’s Hall of Fame induction “Heroes come and go but legends are forever,"reads the inscription. At the base, Medina included the names of all those who died in the helicopter crash, which in addition to the Bryants killed Christina Mauser Payton and Sarah Chester John, Keri and Alyssa Altobelli and pilot Ara Zobayan. Medina’s statue depicts Bryant in a Lakers uniform with his arm around Gigi, who is also in her basketball uniform holding a ball. Gigi was not afraid to show off her basketball skills to disprove Kobe fans who thought he needed a. She was a rising star in her own right and was on her way to a practice session before the crash that ended her life on January 26, 2020. “The flowers, the jerseys, the hats blow away, and I think we need something more permanent.” Gigi was a budding basketball player who was the second of four daughters of Kobe and his wife Vanessa, 38. “You come up here and it is kind of emotional,” said Medina, a West Hills sculptor, who says the bronze is a smaller version of a large life-size sculpture he is creating. The site had long been hallowed ground for many Kobe Bryant fans. Bryant and her father, the legendary Los Angeles Lakers player Kobe Bryant, perished in a helicopter crash on January 26, 2020, not far from Calabasas. He finally made it to the crest, where he placed his formal yet temporary memorial at the site where the basketball star, his daughter and seven others were killed two years ago when the helicopter they were in crashed. Gianna Maria Onore Bryant, popularly known as Gigi, was an American basketball player who attended Harbor Day School in Newport Beach, California, from to January 26, 2020. Medina, negotiating the eroding trail, could not see the rising hills. Before dawn’s light crested over the Calabasas peak, Dan Medina dragged his 150-pound bronze statue of Kobe and Gianna “Gigi” Bryant up the steep, narrow trail.