A Tribute to Kobe
LOCAL STREET ARTIST HUNG TRAN EVENTUALLY CAME FORWARD AS THE CREATOR OF THIS MYSTERIOUS MURAL .
By SHARON STELLO
In early 2020 , a few days after Lakers star Kobe Bryant died in a helicopter crash , a mural popped up overnight in tribute to the basketball player on the Landmark Surf building on Cress Street at South Coast Highway . And no one knew the artist ’ s identity for a long time .
Street artist Hung Tran , a refugee from Vietnam who now lives in the Laguna area , eventually ended the mystery , revealing himself as the creator of this illegal , Banksyinspired mural , which features an airborne Bryant — in a Michael Jordan-esque pose — dunking a heart-shaped balloon into the building ’ s vent .
Tran says he grew up watching Bryant play basketball and , when he died , “ my heart was broken .” Even under the cover of night , it took him a few days to get up the courage to paint it . “ Every time I drove by , I ’ d get spooked ,” he says . He didn ’ t expect it to be up for long since it wasn ’ t approved by the city . “ I didn ’ t think it would last more than a couple of days ,” he recalls .
Originally , the mural also included a Banksy-style girl . After the wall was vandalized , Tran replaced her with a young Gianna , or “ Gigi ,” as she was known — Bryant ’ s daughter , who also died in the crash ; next to her is a basketball emblazoned with “ 2 ,” the number on her soccer and basketball jerseys . People embraced the mural , taking photos and leaving flowers and mementos in tribute to their sports hero . Bryant ’ s widow , Vanessa Bryant , even shared a photo of the mural on Instagram . After the surf shop closed , European Optical opened in its place and owner Astrid Chitamun has rallied for the mural to stay as her children went to school with the Bryant kids .
For Tran , it has opened doors and put him on a new path . The former addict , who also served some jail time , has now been sober for several years and describes himself as a Godloving person . “ Basically , I used to party . I used to do blow and hang out with rockstars . … I got in trouble because I partied with the
Street artist Hung Tran poses with his mural of the late basketball player Kobe Bryant and Bryant ’ s daughter , Gigi .
wrong people that I trusted .” Tran , who had previously painted a Jordan mural in Oceanside and has also painted a Kobe mural in Dana Point , recently added another to his resume . This one , completed in June at El Morro Elementary School , depicts the campus mascot , a sea lion , perched on a rock with her pup . Tran says a parent , who wanted to have the mural created as a gift to the school in honor of her daughter ’ s graduation , searched online for Laguna mural painters and Tran ’ s name came up because of the popularity of his Kobe mural . She called to ask if he would do it and , he says , he was happy to because “ it was for the kids .”
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