Lakers legend Kobe Bryant named an Oscar nominee

Some of the most polarizing names in sports have graced the Lakers’ purple and gold. One great, Kobe Bryant, is finding success off of the court.

There is a reason why Kobe Bryant is arguably the most beloved Lakers‘ player of all-time.

Sometimes in Los Angeles the bright lights of Hollywood intersect with sports. Hall of fame UCLA and Los Angeles Rams quarterback was married to Bob Waterfield to Hollywood starlet Jane Russell.

If you go to a Lakers game you’ll find a who’s who of the Hollywood elite including superfan Jack Nicholson.

When the annual Oscar nominations were read, the most recognizable athlete from Los Angeles the last 20 years was among the names. In a fact almost stranger than fiction Kobe Bryant was among the nominees named this morning. Still, it shouldn’t be much of a surprise.

Showing he can be successful off the court as much as he was on the court, Bryant’s short film “Dear Basketball” was nominated in the animated short category.  Based on the letter Bryant wrote when he retired in 2015, the animated short was a collaboration with artist Glen Keane and famed movie score composer John Williams.

Bryant hired Williams to score the movie, which first screened during the composer’s annual summer program of movie music at the Hollywood Bowl, where Bryant made a surprise appearance.

In retirement it seems Bryant has poured the same passion and work ethic that he did during is NBA career. When he officially retired Bryant immediately went to work on his production company Kobe Inc.

Bryant used his cache to get advise from Hollywood’s best, much like learning his post game moves from Hakeem Olajuwon or leaning on Michael Jordan to teach him his fadeaway jumper. Now Bryant calls on Steven Spielber, Jerry Bruckheimer, and other Hollywood elites to produce content for his company.

Bryant stated as much when interviewed after his retirement in 2016:

"“They respect and appreciate what I’ve done for 20 years as I respect and appreciate what they’ve done over the years. And we understand that there is a unifying force between those two things,” Bryant said. “Even though the disciplines are different, the commitment, attention to detail is absolutely the same. So even though Steven Spielberg can start speaking in film language and I won’t understand a damn thing, I understand the core, the essence of what he’s saying.”"

There is no indication if Bryant will be winning the Oscar but the fact that his first venture into Hollywood production has already garnered him and his team high honors, can anyone doubt that Bryant might be a Hollywood mogul some day.

Next: Three reasons why Kobe is overrated

Even if he doesn’t much like Magic Johnson has gone from the face of the “Showtime” Lakers to a successful businessman perhaps Kobe Bryant’s second act in life will be just as good as his first act.