Fans of the late LA Lakers legend want to see the NBA create a lasting tribute to the icon.
Following Kobe Bryant's tragic, shocking death on Sunday, some of the NBA icon's devoted fans have come up with an idea for a lasting tribute that will truly cement his legacy as a titan of the sport.
Scores of heartbroken fans have signed a Change.org petition aimed at convincing the National Basketball Association to honor Bryant by changing the league's famous logo to feature the Los Angeles Lakers legend.
As it stands, the NBA logo prominently features the silhouette of another Lakers icon, Jerry West. However, the creator of the successful petition, Nick M., elaborated on the effort's goals.
"With the untimely and unexpected passing of the great Kobe Bryant please sign this petition in an attempt to immortalize him forever as the new NBA Logo," the Change.org page explained. "I wish Kobe was still here and I never had to make this petition to begin with. But sadly that isn’t the case, my condolences go out to the Bryant family and everyone who was involved in this accident. Once again thank you all."
By Monday evening, over 1.3 million people had already signed the petition, with more fans adding their names every few seconds. And a lot of that support is stemming from some big stars -- many of whom were friends and fans of Bryant -- spreading the word about the campaign.
"New logo. @nba Let’s do what’s right," Snoop Dogg wrote on Instagram, alongside the concept art suggested on the petition page, which was created by designer Tyson Beck. Meek Mill and Justin Bieber were just a few other stars who also want to see the change.
The wild success of the campaign even shocked the petitions creator, who tweeted early Monday morning, "My original goal was to merely get one hundred signatures I didn’t expect anything to come out of this. Less than a day later we now have over 250,000 signatures."
As for the possibility of such a change happening, it seems that the man who is currently featured on the NBA logo would have no problem seeing the honor go to someone else.
In 2017, West told ESPN's The Jump, "I don’t like to do anything to call attention to myself, and when people say that, it’s just not who I am, period. If they would want to change it, I wish they would. In many ways, I wish they would."
West also tearfully addressed Bryant's death on Sunday in an emotional interview with ESPN, where he reflected on his incomparable legacy and impact.
The former LA Lakers star and his 13-year-old daughter, Gianna, died on Sunday morning following a helicopter crash in Calabasas, California. According to the LA County Sheriff's Office, there were nine people on the helicopter -- a pilot and eight passengers. There were no survivors.
See the video below for more on Bryant's celebrated life and the outpouring of grief, memorials and tributes that have been shared following the tragedy.
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