Kobe Bryant’s Animated Short Film ‘Dear Basketball’ Earns Oscar Nomination

photo credit: Allen Berezovsky l Getty Images

Just when you thought Kobe‘s reign would let up just a little bit, the legend of the Black Mamba still thrives.

After retiring his two Lakers jerseys last December, the film Academy has now nominated Kobe Bryant’s short animated film ‘Dear Basketball’ for an Oscar.

 

Add it to the resume. Kobe’s “Dear Basketball” is Oscar-nominated for Best Animated Short Film.

A post shared by espn (@espn) on Jan 23, 2018 at 5:45am PST

Bryant teamed up with veteran Disney animator Glen Keane to deliver the animated short, which was insipired by a retirement poem the Los Angeles great wrote, which appeared in The Players’ Tribune.

Bryant took to his Twitter to celebrate the Oscar nomination, saying, ‘This is beyond the realm of imagination.’

The Oscars will air Sunday, March 4.

What?? This is beyond the realm of imagination. It means so much that the @TheAcademy deemed #DearBasketball worthy of contention. Thanks to the genius of @GlenKeanePrd & John Williams for taking my poem to this level. It’s an honor to be on this team. #OscarNoms pic.twitter.com/M2joyk9D1V

— Kobe Bryant (@kobebryant) January 23, 2018