What should we expect from a Kobe Bryant movie?

Kobe Bryant is getting the Hollywood treatment. What exactly that will mean for our viewing experience is unknown.

It was recently reported that a movie about the late basketball icon is in the works. Jeff Sneider of The InSneider broke the story first with additional details from Matt Donnelly and J. Kim Murphy of Variety.

This idea prompts many questions. What type of story will be told? How close will it come to the truth? Is it going to stick strictly to Bryant’s life before becoming a star? Sports movie biopics can be tricky, and as an audience, we can be fickle in our demands. In many ways, it’s not so dissimilar to films about our favorite musical artists.

Bohemian Rhapsody won four Oscars and was nominated for five Academy Awards. And yet, it played fast and loose with the facts about Queen. We overlooked that because we love the songs. Art is not necessarily made to be a direct representation of the real world. It’s strictly an interpretation. Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty was wildly entertaining, but it was never meant to be a factual portrayal of the Showtime Lakers dynasty of the ’80s.

According to Variety, the script has drawn comparisons to Moneyball and Air. If true, that’s good news. Moneyball was nominated for six Oscars, including Best Picture. Air didn’t receive any Academy Awards love, but was generally liked by most critics. For the Bryant movie, Variety reported that the script is titled ‘With the 8th Pick,’ adding that “the New Jersey Nets and its general manager, John Nash, had the eighth pick. Nash has previously said that he wanted to draft Bryant, but was overruled by Nets coach John Calipari.”

It is intriguing since an ESPN story from 2021 claims that “The Nets and their new coach, John Calipari, picking at No. 8, had already worked him out several times and were especially smitten.” Whatever direction the narrative takes, the behind-the-scenes drama of the 1996 draft night will be fascinating to see.

The person credited with having the vision to acquire Kobe Bryant is Jerry West. As great a player as he was, he was an even better front office executive. West made the 1996 draft night trade that resulted in Bryant, the 13th overall pick of the Charlotte Hornets, going to the Lakers in exchange for Vlade Divac. It’s one of the boldest and most consequential moves in NBA history. While it’s a no-brainer now, it was risky at the time.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=spzTCroHecg

Bryant, the son of a former NBA player, was a high schooler. Divac was the Lakers’ starting center. Indeed, some teenagers have successfully made the leap from the prep to the pro ranks. Just a year prior, Kevin Garnett was the fifth overall pick and finished sixth in NBA Rookie of the Year voting. West put his reputation on the line for Bryant, and the Lakers got a Hall of Famer and a five-time NBA champion.

Before the draft, West, along with his son Ryan, watched Kobe Bryant battle defensive whiz Michael Cooper in what Ryan West later described as the “greatest workout I’ve ever seen.” Stories like this one are made for the cinema. The last time we saw West on screen, he was portrayed by Jason Clarke in Winning Time. West hated this depiction so much that he threatened legal action. This upcoming movie’s depiction of West might be more polished.

Then there’s the image of Bryant, which changed throughout his two-decade career. He was marketed as kid-friendly. He was also a ruthless competitor on the court, often butting heads with teammates, his coaches, and management. He was also infamously accused of sexual assault in 2003. Bryant admitted to a sexual encounter but insisted it was consensual. Prosecutors dropped the case right before the trial, citing the accuser’s unwillingness to testify, and a civil case was later settled out of court. Many athletes don’t recover from that allegation. If that accusation were to happen today, it is possible that Bryant would be perceived very differently.

Bryant, however, remained popular, even after retirement. His January 2020 death in a helicopter crash became a where-were-you-when-you-heard-the-news moment. Stories continue to come out about Bryant. Earlier this year, ESPN+ released the Eight on Eight documentary, which features eight regular people discussing Bryant’s impact on their lives.

For a generation, Kobe Bryant has been regarded as a hero. Many will flock to see this movie. It will be their time to root again for someone directly connected to their childhoods. We’ll be watching to see how closely this cinematic story matches the real events.