DAPHNE, Ala. — Found-object artist Bruce Larsen unveiled his latest sculpture, “Mr. Basketball,” Tuesday in a ceremony at the United States Sports Academy honoring the late artist Ernie Barnes.

Larsen’s “Mr. Basketball” was crafted to mimic Barnes’ style of painting, typified by extended, narrow arms and legs and portrayed in his “High Aspirations,” the inspiration for the Fairhope artist’s piece.

The giant sculpture, of a man shooting a free throw, is accompanied by an even taller basketball goal. Both pieces have been arranged in the academy’s parking lot facing the building’s façade.

“The piece is rather skinny,” Larsen said. “That was Barnes’ style. That’s what drew me to it.”

A large portion of the sculpture is made of used farming equipment. However, one part came from the academy’s old elevator shaft. Larsen found the round-shaped piece of equipment, which was manufactured by a company named Freeman, and was inspired to use it for the player’s head.

With Tuesday’s festivities, the academy officially kicked off “Mr. Basketball’s” international naming contest.

Voters can select from a list of 15 current and former NBA players whom they feel the sculpture best represents.

The list includes: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Larry Bird, Kobe Bryant, Wilt Chamberlain, LeBron James, Earvin “Magic” Johnson, Michael Jordan, George Mikan, Yao Ming, Dirk Nowitzki, Hakeem Olajuwon, Oscar Robertson, David Robinson, Bill Russell and Jerry West.

During the ceremony, Larsen said he always saw his sculpture as a black man, “in respect to Ernie.”

Visit www.ussa.edu/ballots/basketball-player to cast votes.

“Mr. Basketball” is the fourth of Larsen’s works to appear in the academy’s growing Sport Sculpture Park. Other sculptures include: “Borzov the Sprinter”; “Arnold the Weightlifter”; and “Nastia the Gymnast.”

When asked if the academy has the largest collection of his works, Larsen said he was only sure that it had a collection of his largest works.

“Each new piece has a uniqueness that adds another visual impression to the collection and contributes to the ‘whole’ art experience at ASAMA,” President Thomas Rosandich said. “This really goes to the heart of why the academy founded ASAMA — it is a recognition that art and sport are inextricably intertwined.

“Just as the games that people play help to define the culture within which they live, so, too, does the visual art that the people produce help to define their culture.”

Rosandich added that in many nations, the word “sport” translates into English as “physical culture.”

“This connection between sport and art is not a new phenomenon and, in fact, predates the ancient Olympic Games that were staged at Olympia, Greece almost five centuries B.C.E.,” Rosandich said. “I see the ASAMA collection as an extension of a cultural phenomenon more than 2,000 years in the making and as an important expression of our culture.”

“One only need look at the overflowing football stadiums around the state on a Saturday afternoon to understand that sport plays a significant role in their lives and sport art helps to give expression to that natural affinity that people have for sport competition,” he said.

Larsen was named the academy’s Sport Artist of the Year in Sculpture earlier this year.

Barnes was named the academy’s first Sport Artist of the Year in 1984, an honor he received again in 2004.