Kobe Bryant becomes the first athlete to win an Oscar.
Kobe Bryant’s short film Dear Basketball won an Academy Award for Best Animated Short film at the 90th annual Academy Awards on Sunday night.
The former Los Angeles Lakers basketball player is a five-time NBA champion, a two-time Gold Medalist for Team USA and future NBA Hall of Famer who is widely recognized for his library of sports accolades and superior athletic skills.
But on Sunday evening, Kobe was rewarded for his artistic genius and creative acumen as a writer.
“From the moment I started rolling my dad’s tube socks, shooting imaginary game-winning shots in the great western forum, I knew one thing was real--I fell in love with you.” –Dear Basketball
Dear Basketball is romanticized love poem from Kobe to basketball itself. The short film encapsulates Kobe’s drive, determination and will that he displayed during his 20-year playing career. But it also reveals the unique connection and love affair that he forged with the sport that gave him joy.
In the end, the short film is also a break-up. The short film is based on the letter he wrote in his final season to The Player’s Tribune on Nov. 29, 2015, which was later adapted into the film Dear Basketball in 2017.
Twitter got loud congratulating the basketball legend:
Kobe also joined in on Hollywood's tendency to get political in acceptance speeches when he took a slight jab at Fox News commentator Laura Ingraham, stating:
“As basketball players we’re really supposed to shut up and dribble, but I’m glad we do a little bit more than that.”
The dig comes on the heels of Ingraham's “shut up and dribble comments directed towards NBA star LeBron James for his remarks on Trump during an Uninterrupted video segment with fellow NBA star Kevin Durant and sports personality Cari Champion.
Kobe had a trailblazing NBA career and it seems that this could be the foundation of what’s in store for him as a writer and content creator.