After the tragic passing of legendary basketball icon and Academy Award winner, Kobe Bryant and his 13 year old daughter, Gianna, The Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences is planning to acknowledge the death of the late basketball legend Kobe Bryant at the 2020 Oscars ceremony on February 9th. The news was first reported by The Hollywood Reporter.
Although Bryant’s basketball accomplishments overshadowed his film efforts, he was awarded the Oscar for his five-minute autobiographical short film Dear Basketball. The Laker great wrote, executive produced and lent his voice to the project, which won best animated short at the 2018 ceremony.
After his death, the Academy paid tribute to Bryant in a touching Instagram post, writing,
“They doubted a kid could make it in the NBA and he proved them wrong.They doubted he could win a championship and he proved them wrong. They doubted he could make movies and he won an Oscar. Like all great artists, Kobe Bryant proved the doubters wrong. Rest in peace.”
