‘Vom Wafer’: Lakers forced to correct errors on statue dedicated to Kobe Bryant

The Los Angeles Lakers say they are correcting several errors on a statue dedicated to their late star, Kobe Bryant.

A tweet from a German journalist went viral on Monday after it exposed errors on the statue, including misspelling the names of Jose Calderon and Von Wafer in a section about Bryant’s 81-point game against the Toronto Raptors. Calderon’s name is listed on the statue as “Calderson”, while Von Wafer becomes “Vom Wafer”. There is also a formatting error on the Hall of Famer’s career achievements and a reference to a coaching decision.

“We have been aware of this for several weeks and are already working to get it corrected quickly,” a Lakers spokesperson said in a statement Monday.

Bryant played his entire twenty-year NBA career for the Lakers and became one of the most popular players in franchise history. He died in a helicopter crash in 2020 together with his daughter Gianna.

The 20-foot bronze statue of Bryant was unveiled last month outside the Lakers’ Crypto.com Arena. Bryant’s widow, Vanessa, said two other statues of Bryant are planned, one of which will represent Gianna. The Lakers have yet to decide on a location for the final two statues.