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Casual fans might assume Kobe Bryant never crossed paths with Luka Doncic. After all, Bryant retired three years before Doncic debuted at age 19 in 2018.
But when the Dallas Mavericks visited the Lakers on Dec. 29, 2019, early in Doncic’s second season, Bryant — wearing a green Philadelphia Eagles beanie and orange jacket — was seated courtside with his daughter, Gianna.
At one point, Doncic seemed oblivious to the fact that he was standing directly in front of Bryant while attempting to throw an inbound pass. He heard someone trash talking in Slovenian, turned around and there was Bryant, smiling. Doncic quickly shook his hand before turning to the court and inbounding the ball.
“I like that he showed love,” Doncic said after the game. “He was talking my language. I saw Kobe talking Slovenian and I was really surprised.”
A Denver-based artist was commissioned by Nike to paint a Kobe Bryant mural in Venice Beach. An Instagram post featuring the piece has been viewed 2 million times.
Following the Lakers’ 108-95 victory in which Doncic had a subpar performance, missing all six of his three-point shots while scoring 19 points, Bryant greeted the budding superstar by saying, “My Man! What’s up brother?”
Doncic replied, “I was like, ‘Who is talking Slovenian?’” They shared a laugh, another handshake and a hug. Doncic posed for a photo with Gianna, then for another with Bryant. A month later, Bryant and Gianna were among the nine people who died in a helicopter crash in the hills above Calabasas on Jan. 26, 2020.
Doncic now is a member of the Lakers after a trade that redefined the meaning of surprising. And to no one’s surprise, a mural that captures that 2019 meeting of Bryant and Doncic already is complete.
In front of Carrera Cafe on Melrose Avenue between Harper Avenue and North Sweetzer Avenue in Beverly Grove, the mural is the latest in a social media favorite wall-scape across from the well-known Paul Smith pink wall.
Kobe’s beanie is Lakers gold and his jacket Lakers purple in the mural, but the close-cropped beard and mustache he sported that night is accurately portrayed. So are the grins Bryant and Doncic wore during their short meeting.
The mural was painted by Arutyun Gozukuchikyan, known as ArToon. The Armenian artist’s first mural of Bryant was painted a week after his death, on the side of an exotic car rental company along Ventura Boulevard. Bryant and Gianna, then 13, are smiling and looking skyward.
More than 100 murals commemorating the lives of Bryant and his daughter are featured in an upcoming book written by Bryant’s wife and Gianna’s mother, Vanessa Bryant, and photographed by longtime Bryant and NBA photographer Andrew Bernstein. The one of Bryant and Doncic is a worthy addition.
Vanessa Bryant is writing a book highlighting 100-plus murals that honor her husband, Kobe, and daughter, Gianna, who died in a helicopter crash five years ago Sunday.
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