A second LeBron James Lakers mural has been defaced by a vandal this month in Los Angeles.
Another LeBron Lakers Mural in L.A. Pops Up https://t.co/3zcCa5ObSj
— SportsGossip.com (@sportsgossip) July 19, 2018
The latest mural of James depicted him looking up at Lakers legends Kobe Bryant, Shaquille O’Neal, Magic Johnson, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Wilt Chamberlain above the two historic venues the team has played at: Staples Center and the Great Western Forum.
Gustavo Zermeno, a lifelong Lakers fan who painted the mural, said its message was that James was coming to the Lakers with respect and understanding of the legends he is following. With the image of James looking up to former Lakers stars, Zermeno said he hoped the message of the art would keep vandals and haters from defacing it.
But someone poured white paint over the top of James’ image late Friday night. On Saturday morning, Zermeno returned to fix it, and he said about “40 to 50” Lakers fans stopped by and helped him. The artist said he did not know who defaced his art or why.
“[The message of the mural was to] just show LeBron paying homage to not only past Lakers legends but the whole organization. Him showing up to the Lakers and knowing he has some big shoes to fill.”
Earlier this month, local muralist Jonas Never produced artwork featuring James in a Lakers jersey with the message “King of LA” on a wall at the Baby Blues BBQ restaurant in Venice. The mural was first vandalized with spray paint that read, “We Don’t Want You” and “No King,” as well as “3-6,” an apparent reference to James’ record in the NBA Finals.
Artist Paints Over LeBron James Lakers Mural after Vandalism https://t.co/PGXCGXv4Hj
— SportsGossip.com (@sportsgossip) July 12, 2018
One bad apple don’t spoil the whole bunch. This sounds to me like someone who likes causing problems, less to do with LeBron. Los Angeles will warm up to him very quickly, if they haven’t already.
It’s been restored! We are so moved by the reaction to our mural. We initiated this project to properly welcome LeBron to LA. He isn't taking over LA, he's joining us. We wanted to convey that within the context of the Lakers' history. So, we partnered with artist Gustavo Zermeno pic.twitter.com/TQOUeEJ3kH
— Sportie LA (@sportiela) July 23, 2018