Kobe Bryant is a name intertwined with the NBA cosmos despite his untimely demise. The Lakers legend not only left a mark on the hardboard with his majestic hooping displays but also left a cultural mark among his legion of followers.
While most of the NBA greats delve into post-retirement ventures mostly involving complex business equations, Kobe focused his energy on something that was he passionate about and years later it bore fruit on the stage of the 90th Academy Awards.
Kobe Bryant inspired Dwyane Wade in his quest for Oscar
Kobe Bryant has been an influence to many for his exceptional on-court presence but Dwyane Wade recently talked about how the Black Mamba encouraged him with his off-court achievement.
On The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, Wade spoke about Kobe’s Academy Award win and how it impacted the 42-year-old. He confessed to not knowing that basketball players could win an Oscar until he saw Kobe receiving it.
Speaking about the late Kobe Bryant’s Oscar win, Wade said, “It showed me and it told me if you get behind something you’re really passionate about, that people can feel your heartbeat through it, then great things can happen obviously you know through their basketball.”
Wade spilled how he had just retired when the Lakers legend won the award, making him feel that he might lag, so he thought, “I gotta go win an Oscar now!” to add another award to his long list of accolades.
While saying this, he looked at the camera and pleaded with the voters to help him win for his new documentary “The Barber Of Little Rock,” which aired in 2023 and got nominated for the Academy Award in the Best Documentary Short category.
Reason for Kobe Bryant winning the Oscar
Kobe Bryant won the Oscar in the best animated short film category in 2018 for “Dear Basketball.” The 5-time NBA Champion being the first athlete who won such a prestigious award led the path that was followed by others.
Kobe had worked hard to bring the director of the film, Glen Keane who had previously worked for the world-famous Disney Animation Studios and John Williams who is acclaimed for his music in the Star Wars series, on board.
Kobe had worked hard to bring the director of the film, Glen Keane, who had previously worked for the world-famous Disney Animation Studios, and John Williams, acclaimed for his music in the Star Wars series, on board.
There was a special element added by Kobe in the film, which was his poem that he had written when he announced his retirement from basketball. Apart from that, the film writer himself was deeply involved and helped with the source material.
Admitting that he had a knack for writing, Kobe once said, “I found enjoyment in writing that film, and writing each chapter … What should we do next? That’s what really kicked it off.”
The other short films that got nominated along with Kobe’s “Dear Basketball” were Lou, Revolting Rhymes, Garden Party and Negative Space.
Even though Kobe Bryant’s name is mostly left out of the GOAT debate, with the Oscar to his name, he has already topped the likes of Michael Jordan and LeBron James, who themselves could not match Kobe’s achievement with their “Space Jam” renditions.
