LOS ANGELES — Restoration efforts for a mural depicting a Lakers legend received a boost from the team’s newest star.
Luka Dončić provided a $5,000 donation Tuesday to help restore the mural featuring Kobe Bryant and his 13-year-old daughter Gianna that was vandalized in downtown Los Angeles.
The mural on the side of a building at the corner of 14th and Main streets depicts Bryant holding his young daughter, who is holding a basketball, and kissing her on the cheek.
Black and white paint covered the artwork that honors the Hall of Fame basketball player, who won five NBA championships and played his entire career with the Lakers, and his teen daughter.
Dončić’s name appeared in the mural restoration GoFundMe donations list Tuesday. His foundation confirmed the donation.
“Kobe is LA. He and Gigi mean so much to this city, to the Lakers organization and to me personally,” Dončić said in a statement provided by the Luka Dončić Foundation. “I’m happy to do anything to help make sure he and his daughter are honored.”
The fundraiser collected more than $5,400 by midday.
The five-time NBA All-Star and five-time All-NBA First Team selection and Bryant are featured in a mural in Beverly Grove.
The art depicts a memorable photograph of the two athletes that was captured in 2019. The original image shows Bryant meeting the Slovenian star for the first time during a Dallas Mavericks game in Los Angeles, with the basketball legend watching from the sidelines.
Nine people, including Kobe and Gianna Bryant, were on a helicopter when it crashed Jan. 26, 2020 into a hillside in the Calabasas area northwest of Los Angeles.
Police have not identified any suspects in the vandalism.
