Inside The Heat

Miami Heat Legend Dwyane Wade Attended Kobe Bryant Statue Unveiling

The Los Angeles Lakers introduced the statue dedicated to NBA legend Kobe Bryant Thursday at Crypto.com Arena

Shandel Richardson

Miami Heat Legend Dwyane Wade Attended Kobe Bryant Statue Unveiling
Miami Heat Legend Dwyane Wade Attended Kobe Bryant Statue Unveiling /
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Kobe Bryant was one of Miami Heat legend Dwyane Wade's biggest influences before entering the NBA. 

So it was only fitting for Wade to show up when the Los Angeles Lakers presented Bryant with the ultimate individual honor. On Thursday, the Lakers unveiled a statue of Bryant that will sit outside Crypto.com Arena to pay respects for what he meant to the organization. In January of 2020, Bryant was killed in a helicopter crash in Los Angeles. 

Wade was among the many friends and family on hand for the presentation. The statue features the name Kobe Bean Bryant above the words "Black Mamba," his nickname for most of his 20-year, Hall of Fame career. The pose was an image from the game Bryant scored 81 points against the Toronto Raptors in 2008. It remains the second-high scoring total by an individual player since Wilt Chamberlain's 100-point game in 1962.

Wade and Bryant shared many memorable moments during their playing careers. The faced off 20 times, with Wade winning 11 times. Their friendship reached its peak when they spent the summer together playing for the Olympics team in 2008. 

Like Bryant, Wade is also memorialized in front of his arena. Last month the Heat erected a statue of Wade outside Kaseya Center to honor him as the greatest player in franchise history. 

Miami Heat Legend Dwyane Wade Pays Respects To Kobe Bryant On 8-24

Shandel Richardson covers the Miami Heat for Inside The Heat, a Fan Nation channel for Sports Illustrated. He has covered the NBA since 2010.

TWITTER: @ShandelRich

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Shandel Richardson
SHANDEL RICHARDSON

Shandel has covered the NBA since 2010, with previous stops at The Athletic and South Florida Sun-Sentinel.  He has covered six NBA Finals, one Super Bowl, the NCAA basketball tournament. He has also been a beat writer for the Miami Hurricanes and contributed on every major beat in South Florida since 2003, including the Miami Dolphins and Miami Marlins. He can also be read in the Sportsbook Review for gambling coverage from around the NBA. A native of Bloomington, Illinois, Shandel attended Southern Illinois University in Carbondale. He's also worked for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch and Kansas City Star.  TWITTER: @ShandelRich EMAIL: shandelrich@gmail.com You can subscribe to our YouTube channel here Follow all of our Miami Heat coverage on Facebook here

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