It looked different than he remembered.
“I couldn’t even believe how much writing was on it,” Never told The Times in a recent phone interview.
That spot had become a gathering place for mourning fans in the aftermath of the Jan. 26, 2020, helicopter crash that killed Kobe, Gianna and seven others. Many of those fans had written simple messages to the beloved icon — like “RIP Kobe & Gigi,” “We love you,” “Thank you for everything,” and “Mamba out” — all over the mural.
“I’ve never really seen that done with a mural before,” Never said. “And it’s sort of unique because that mural wasn’t a memorial mural. It was just a straight Kobe mural because he was still alive” when it was painted.
But at some point since then, Never said, “it kind of crossed over into a little bit of overkill. My buddy Droyce, who I painted it with, we’ve been debating for years about whether we should touch it up. Part of me loves that it’s become literally a part of the community. But part of me is also like, man, some of it’s really screwed up and there’s a lot of stuff on there that doesn’t really tie into Kobe.
“So we can’t really figure out the solution yet, but I do love that, partially that it’s across from Staples Center, it gave people a place to go and visit, you know, a version of Kobe.”
