When Kobe Bryant retired from the game of basketball, he was only 37 years old. With Bryant ready to embark on the next chapter of his life, he knew he wanted to be a storyteller. But any time Kobe spoke out about his post-retirement plans, he was met with the same reaction—"That's cute."
In the days leading up to this year's Oscars, Kobe sat down with The Undefeated to reflect on his Oscar nomination for Best Animated Short Film for Dear Basketball. "I've always been told that as basketball players the expectation is that you play," Bryant said. "This is all you know. This is all you do. Don’t think about handling finances. Don’t think about going into business. Don’t think that you want to be a writer — that’s cute. I got that a lot. What do you want to do when you retire? 'Well, I want to be a storyteller.' That's cute. This is … a form of validation for people to look and say, 'OK, he really can do something other than dribble and shoot.'"
On Sunday, Bryant won the award for Best Animated Short Film, and even took a shot at that person who shall not be named that said basketball players should just "shut up and dribble."
Bryant's victory has even made former Lakers teammate Shaq "jealous."
