COMPTON – Vanessa Bryant celebrated the dedication of a refurbished outdoor basketball court in memory of her late husband Kobe and daughter Gianna in Compton on June 16.
“Thank you for showing up and showing out for our exclusive court reopening at Wilson Park in honor of Kobe and Gianna,” said Bryant. “Special thanks to artist Sloe Motions for the incredible mural and Lisa Leslie and Trae Young, for being a big part of this special occasion.”
Bryant also thanked the donors who made the court possible.
“To our donors – you made this happen. Every single dollar you’ve donated and merch you’ve purchased from the foundation goes toward our mission of creating a positive impact for underserved athletes and boys & girls in sports,” said Bryant.
The refurbishment was made possible through a donation from BodyArmor valued at $67,000.
The court at Wilson Park is the 10th court the Mamba and Mambacita Foundation and BodyArmor collaborated on. They have refurbished courts around the country with the first location being in Kobe’s hometown of Philadelphia, with another local court in Anaheim.
BodyArmor CEO Federico Muyshondt said this court was by far his favorite court to design.
“The meaning of what it means to be here in L.A. makes this extra special,” Muyshondt said. “This is the town that Kobe Bryant played in, it’s the city that he built.”
The court at Wilson Park began with a phone call from BodyArmor to the City last year after they requested a list of parks from the city and selected Wilson Park which is located in Spicer’s district.
“I am super excited about the basketball court and the community is going to be amazed at how the basketball courts are going to look,” said Spicer. “My district is really starting to come together.”
When asked if the project will expand to other parks, he was optimistic.
“The goal is to build up all of our parks and we just so happened to get a grant from BodyArmor and they chose the park they wanted to donate to after we provided them a list,” said Spicer.
The court features murals of both Kobe and Gianna painted on the side of the park’s gymnasium with the court being painted in the Lakers purple and gold with their names etched into it.
According to an interview, Vanessa said the goal was to pay homage to Kobe’s basketball career through the courts.
“For years we’ve been trying to build a basketball court in a public space in L.A. and we’re so thankful to council member (Andre) Spicer and Mayor (Emma) Sharif for allowing us to be included in your community,” Vanessa Bryant said.
