With the exception of last week’s jersey retirement ceremony at Staples Center, Kobe Bryant has taken a step back from basketball to focus on many new ventures as a businessman.
The future Hall-of-Famer previously traveled the world promoting his new sports drink, Body Armor, and most recently has worked extensively in the entertainment industry as a screenwriter and executive producer.
Bryant filled those roles in the development of animated film “Dear Basketball,” which is one of 10 nominees on the shortlist for an Academy Award.
The film is essentially a visualization of Bryant’s penned letter to the Player’s Tribune during the 2015-16 NBA season, where he announced his retirement to the entire basketball world.
In a new production called “The Arc,” as part of the Musecage Basketball Network, Bryant examined the state of the NBA’s most dominant big men, per ESPN’s YouTube channel:
The 18-time All-Star lended his voice in the narration of the video and offered valuable advice to three of the most talented centers in the sport, including the Philadelphia 76ers’ Joel Embiid, New York Knicks’ Kristaps Porzingis and Minnesota Timberwolves’ Karl-Anthony Towns.
The game has evolved in the past decade where traditional centers that score in the paint are less versatile than modern big men that are capable of stretching the floor with outside shooting.
Bryant opined that in order for centers to be successful in today’s NBA, one must be able to consistently make 3-pointers while successfully defend on the perimeter on the other end.
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