{"id":5030,"date":"2020-01-28T19:29:20","date_gmt":"2020-01-28T19:29:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/magazine.watchjaro.com\/?p=5030"},"modified":"2020-01-28T19:29:20","modified_gmt":"2020-01-28T19:29:20","slug":"reflections-on-kobe-bryants-award-winning-film-dear-basketball","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/magazine.watchjaro.com\/reflections-on-kobe-bryants-award-winning-film-dear-basketball\/","title":{"rendered":"Reflections On Kobe Bryant\u2019s Award-Winning Film \u2018Dear Basketball\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Still from “Dear Basketball”<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

As we remember Kobe Bryant in the days following his tragic death, we\u2019re revisiting the art that the basketball legend left behind.<\/b><\/p>\n

The short film \u201cDear Basketball,\u201d which earned Bryant an Oscar in 2018, is based on a poem that Bryant wrote where he announced his retirement from the game that he deeply cherished. Narrated by Bryant, it tells the story of his own personal journey with basketball, and a farewell to his first love. The film was animated by Disney\u2019s Glen Keane and scored by John Williams.<\/b><\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re going back and revisiting key moments of my life, figuring out how did that make me grow as a person,\u201d <\/b>Bryant<\/b><\/a> told LA Times back in 2015. \u201cI can\u2019t lie \u2014 at the start of this process, I\u2019m thinking this is going to be great. But when I actually started confronting the journey, there were moments that were scary…. At the end, it was therapeutic. It actually helped me deal with things that were affecting me that I had pushed to the side.\u201d<\/b><\/p>\n

Here is the full poem, courtesy of The Players’ Tribune. <\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

“D<\/span>ear Basketball,<\/strong><\/p>\n

From the moment<\/strong>
\nI started rolling my dad\u2019s tube socks<\/strong>
\nAnd shooting imaginary<\/strong>
\nGame-winning shots<\/strong>
\nIn the Great Western Forum<\/strong>
\nI knew one thing was real:<\/strong><\/p>\n

I fell in love with you.<\/strong><\/p>\n

A love so deep I gave you my all \u2014<\/strong>
\nFrom my mind & body<\/strong>
\nTo my spirit & soul.<\/strong><\/p>\n

As a six-year-old boy<\/strong>
\nDeeply in love with you<\/strong>
\nI never saw the end of the tunnel.<\/strong>
\nI only saw myself<\/strong>
\nRunning out of one.<\/strong><\/p>\n

And so I ran.<\/strong>
\nI ran up and down every court<\/strong>
\nAfter every loose ball for you.<\/strong>
\nYou asked for my hustle<\/strong>
\nI gave you my heart<\/strong>
\nBecause it came with so much more.<\/strong><\/p>\n

I played through the sweat and hurt<\/strong>
\nNot because challenge called me<\/strong>
\nBut because YOU called me.<\/strong>
\nI did everything for YOU<\/strong>
\nBecause that\u2019s what you do<\/strong>
\nWhen someone makes you feel as<\/strong>
\nAlive as you\u2019ve made me feel.<\/strong><\/p>\n

You gave a six-year-old boy his Laker dream<\/strong>
\nAnd I\u2019ll always love you for it.<\/strong>
\nBut I can\u2019t love you obsessively for much longer.<\/strong>
\nThis season is all I have left to give.<\/strong>
\nMy heart can take the pounding<\/strong>
\nMy mind can handle the grind<\/strong>
\nBut my body knows it\u2019s time to say goodbye.<\/strong><\/p>\n

And that\u2019s OK.<\/strong>
\nI\u2019m ready to let you go.<\/strong>
\nI want you to know now<\/strong>
\nSo we both can savor every moment we have left together.<\/strong>
\nThe good and the bad.<\/strong>
\nWe have given each other<\/strong>
\nAll that we have.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

And we both know, no matter what I do next<\/strong>
\nI\u2019ll always be that kid<\/strong>
\nWith the rolled up socks<\/strong>
\nGarbage can in the corner<\/strong>
\n:05 seconds on the clock<\/strong>
\nBall in my hands.<\/strong>
\n5 \u2026 4 \u2026 3 \u2026 2 \u2026 1<\/strong><\/p>\n

Love you always,<\/strong>
\nKobe”<\/strong><\/p>\n