Kobe Bryant Mural At Tampa Elementary May Be World's Largest

TAMPA, FL — When children at Seminole Heights Elementary School Tampa play basketball on the school's court, they now have a larger-than life reminder of the man who fed the basketball dreams of young athletes for more than 20 years.

Florida artist Jorge Roldan, 24, has completed a mural of the legendary NBA All-Star and Hall of Famer Kobe Bryant, who played with the Los Angeles Lakers for 20 years. Bryant died Jan. 26 when the helicopter he was in crashed.

Since his death, tributes to Bryant have appeared on basketball courts around the world but none as large as the 80-foot tall and 100-foot wide mural Roldan created at the Tampa elementary school through a sponsorship from the TRIBE Seminole Heights.

The nonprofit TRIBE provides community outreach programs in partnership with Seminole and Broward elementary schools, including educational activities and maintaining a close closet to provide free clothes and shoes to children in need.

Roldan spent more than 300 hours on the mural devoted to the man he said he idolized as both a basketball player and a man of character.

“Painting a mural of Kobe on a basketball court was a bucket list item for me," he said. "I was really excited to try my hand at a piece this large."

Kristen Brown, founder of The TRIBE said Bryant encompassed many of the positive qualities they try to instill in students at the school.

“Kobe often spoke about sacrifice, and the need to work hard. That mentality will take kids far, and I loved the idea of spreading it throughout the school,” said Brown. “We incorporated Kobe quotes into the school’s leadership program. Many of his sentiments echo the seven ‘Leader in Me’ habits the school is trying to instill in the students, but it sounds just a little cooler coming from Kobe.”

Brown believes this is the largest mural in the world dedicated to Kobe Bryant. The next largest they were able to find is a 39-foot tall mural at an elementary school in Gradiška, Bosnia and Herzegovina.

“We’re excited to reveal this Kobe mural for our students to see that they can dream big and achieve their goals just like he did," said Seminole Heights Elementary School Principal Francine Lazarus. "He embodied the ideals of hard work and perseverance that we try to instill in our students every day. This project also exposes our students to the power and inspiration that art can have on an entire community.”