Another new Lakers mural vandalized in Los Angeles, then fixed by fans

Less than two weeks after artist Jonas Never covered up his LeBron James mural in Venice, California, due to repeated vandalism, another new mural has taken a hit.

This time, is was artist Gustavo Zermeño Jr’s painting of Laker greats on Melrose Avenue, which appears to only have existed for a day or two based on Zermeño’s Instagram account (@gz.jr). The mural depicts James looking up at longtime play-by-play man Chick Hearn, Kobe Bryant, Shaquille O’Neal. Magic Johnson, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, and Wilt Chamberlain.

Based on a photo from Saturday morning, the vandal appears to have thrown paint on James’ depiction.

Reactions online have been largely supportive of the artist, with many Twitter users roasting the vandals for having nothing better to do with their time.

Interestingly, the same paint-dumping tactic was used to deface Never’s mural, prompting the question: was this the work of the same vandal? The plot thickens.

Later Saturday, however, the artist apparently enlisted the help of Laker fans to fix the damage. He told ESPN’s Ohm Youngmisuk that the mural’s message was intended to be that it “overpowers people’s hate for LeBron.”

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