Shaquille O’Neal Statue Unveiled At Staples Center

Shaquille O'Neal is the latest Lakers legend honored in a sculpture form on March 24. O'Neal joined fellow NBA legends like Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Jerry West, Phil Jackson and Kobe Bryant.

The people responsible for making the statue possible are Omri Amrany and Julie Rotblatt, a husband-and-wife artist team, of the Fine Art Studio of Rotblatt-Amrany, they are based in Highland Park. Omri Amrany and Julie Rotblatt are also responsible for the making of The Spirit, the statue depicting Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen, Vince Lombardi, Josh Gibson, Gordie Howe, Magic Johnson, Wilt Chamberlain and Jerry West according to NBA.

Omri Amrany and Julie Rotblatt got into the business of making sports statues when they got to do the statue of Michael Jordan in 1994. Most of their pieces expressed elements of defying gravity and the freedom of flight, which were of tremendous importance for the artistic expression.

The artists are thinking about designing statues that floating up in the air and they wanted to let the viewers experience what other players on the court experienced every night when playing with O'Neal as if O'Neal became a form of art on his own. The production of the statue is based on photos and computer adjustments, no measuring of the subject occurred.

According to LA Curbed, the statue was unveiled on March 24 at Staples Center in Los Angeles, California, the statue that depicts O'Neal dangling from the rim as a freshly dunked ball makes its way through the net. The statue is weighing in at well over 1,000 pounds, made from bronze, steel, wood and clay and at nine feet tall, the statue is quite larger than the man himself.

O'Neal's statue is the eighth statue honoring a Los Angeles sports icon at the Stapes Center's Star Plaza. The ceremony was attended by Shaquille O'Neal himself, Kobe Bryant, Jeanie Buss, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, and Jerry West.

TagsShaquille O'Neal Statue, Shaquille O'Neal Statue Unveiled At Staples Center, Omri Amrany and Julie Rotblatt, Michael Jordan, Staples Center in Los Angeles, O'Neal Statue, Los Angeles Sports Icon