Sculptor Julie Rotblatt-Amrany shares her process in creating the tribute to the Lakers legend

Julie Rotblatt-Amrany works on the statue of Kobe Bryant.

Standing at 19 feet tall in a pose from an iconic 2006 81-point game, the bronze and granite statue of Lakers star Kobe Bryant attracted droves of fans upon its unveiling in Downtown Los Angeles earlier this month. The masterful bust of the Black Mamba, who died in a 2020 helicopter accident, was created by Julie Rotblatt-Amrany, who adds the statue to her already impressive portfolio which includes chiseling the likes of Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, David Beckham and Wilt Chamberlain.

The Chicago-born artist’s career truly took off after completing an iconic Michael Jordan sculpture titled “The Spirit” for the Bulls in 1996, just four years after founding the Fine Art Studio of Rotblatt-Amrany north of her hometown. “The [Michael] Jordan project kind of took hold and dominated our business,” she tells Los Angeles magazine. “It was our bread and butter and our main business.”The process of making the Lakers legend’s statue started five years before his passing. Kobe Bryant was involved in choosing the pose, and after Rotblatt-Amrany sent the Lakers ideas for a pose that included him flying in the air and dunking, Kobe came back with the idea of his iconic 81-point game of him pointing in the air.

Fans pose in front of the completed statue

(Photo by Carlos Yakimowich)

“Between the mourning process, the pandemic and everything, it got delayed and stopped,” says Rotblatt-Amrany. “Normally a piece like that, you need about a year from design work to installation.”Rotblatt-Amrany expresses how honored and thankful she was to be a part of the process of creating the tribute. She understood it was a difficult time for the Lakers and their fans, but mainly wanted to satisfy widow Vanessa Bryant’s requests. “My goal was to make [Vanessa] pleased,” says Rotblatt-Amrany. “What she wanted, I acquiesced to. Whatever her wishes were.”

The artist details all four of Bryant’s daughters’ names tattooed on his arm, along with the triangle base — representing the winning triangle offense under former Lakers head coach Phil Jackson — were among those wishes.During the statue unveiling on Feb. 8, Vanessa Bryant revealed there would be two more statues of Kobe coming in the future, one with his retired No. 24 jersey and the other with his late daughter, Gianna Bryant.