Saratoga Man’s Rubik’s Cube Tribute To Kobe Bryant Goes Viral

America’s Got Talent season 11 finalist and Saratoga Springs native Steven Brundage pays tribute to Kobe Bryant with 814 Rubik's cubes.

Steven Brundage, a professional magician and entertainer who hails from Saratoga, became a viral sensation in 2014 with his YouTube video Magician gets out of Speeding Ticket with Magic. 

Brundage felt a huge loss like the rest of the world after Kobe Bryant, his 13-year-old daughter Gianna, and eight others died in a helicopter crash. He was inspired to pay tribute. He told Forbes:

“When I heard the news, I was in shock. I cried and felt sick to my stomach. Kobe to me was larger than life. I started playing basketball when I was 6 years old...basically revolved around basketball and Kobe was my Michael Jordan.” [Forbes]

After 20 hours and 814 cubes, Brungage crafted a portrait of Bryant using a technique credited to Giovanni Contardi.

Brundage shared a 26-second time-lapse video on his Twitter account of the 20 hours.

Forbes says Brundage shared the video on his personal account, which he has since set to private, but before doing so, it was reshared by Sports Center, ESPN, and WorldStar, which generated more than 10 million views between all of them.

Brundage plans to auction off the art and donate the proceeds to the Mamba Sports Academy. 

Thank you, Steven Brundage, this is a very kind and thoughtful act.