Kobe's Statue Unveiling, Playing vs. NBA Champions & a New Reason to Beat Denver

Today, February 8 2024 will be a day to remember, as the LA Lakers will be facing the Denver Nuggets but the attention will be especially focused on the purple and gold's biggest legend, the late Kobe Bryant as the statue in his honor will finally be unveiled.

The Lakers have in Kobe the biggest motivation to get the win over the current NBA reigning champions, besides the fact the group is still looking for payback after being swept by Nikola Jokic and Co. in the last Western Conference Finals.

Kobe inspired the team in 2020 to win the NBA title, tonight the team could also be inspired to get the victory against one of the toughest opponents in the West and the whole league, in pursuit of increasing their winning streak to 4 in case they get the win.

On top of all that, there's another extra motivation, particularly for one of the players who can also inspire his teammates to give him a present, and that is Rui Hachimura and today is his birthday. LeBron James recently praised the wing and what Hachimura brings to the team as a starter, a role that the forward had in the last game, in the win over the Charlotte Hornets.

Shaquille O'Neal spoke about Kobe Bryant and his former teammate deserving a statue in LA

"Obviously it’s well deserved,” Shaquille O’Neal said of Bryant’s statue. “I’m always bragging about how many rings I’ve got – definitely couldn’t have gotten the three that I’ve got without him.” The Lakers will be unveiling later today the statue of Kobe Bryant.