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Metro Renames Station After Kobe Bryant (Just For The Day)
Kobe Bryant will one day join his former teammate Shaquille O'Neal, Lakers legends Magic Johnson, Jerry West, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, and broadcaster Chick Hearn in being immortalized outside of the Staples Center. But since he's still technically an active player, he'll have to settle for a Metro station for now.For one day only, Metro has renamed the Pico Station the Kobe Station—not to be confused with the one in Japan. Pico Station is served by both the Blue and Expo lines, and is of course the station that is two blocks from the Lakers' home court.
Since it's just a temporary #rebrand, the "Kobe" signage charmingly looks more like a fly-by-night operation by some guerrilla street artists who are dedicated fans of the Black Mamba.
Officially, though, the station is already named after the Hall of Fame Lakers broadcaster Chick Hearn, as "Pico/Chick Hearn."
With tonight the last game of the Lakers' disastrous 2015-16 season, it also marks the end of Bryant's NBA career. In his 20 years, all of which were spent with the Lakers, Bryant was a five-time NBA Champion, an MVP, and an 18-time All-Star. Tickets start at over $700, with courtside seats going all the way up to $27,500 on StubHub.
Metro advises those attending tonight's game to take public transportation to the game, as traffic will be pretty, pretty bad (as usual) around the Staples Center and L.A. Live.
Thanks for the memories, Kobe. We'll see you in bronze outside of Staples soon.
Thanks for the memories and the rings! #kb20 #mambaday (photo by IG user @yesimawake) pic.twitter.com/zjNyRBRUgH
— LA Metro (@metrolosangeles) April 13, 2016
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