Kobe Bryant nominated for Oscar for 'Dear Basketball'
LOS ANGELES (AP) Does Kobe Bryant need another trophy? He might get one -- at the Oscars.
Bryant, the retired Los Angeles Lakers star, was nominated in the animated short category for ''Dear Basketball,'' based on a poem he wrote in 2015 announcing his impending retirement from basketball. He was nominated along with veteran Disney animator Glen Keane.
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Bryant's poem begins: 'Dear Basketball, from the moment I started rolling my dad's tube socks, and shooting imaginary game-winning shots in the Great Western Forum, I knew one thing was real: I fell in love with you.'
It reflects on how time is running out. ''I can't love you obsessively for much longer,'' it says. ''This season is all I have left to give. My heart can take the pounding, my mind can handle the grind. But my body knows it's time to say goodbye.''
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It ends by counting down the final five seconds on a game clock.
Bryant, 39, a five-time NBA champion, played 20 seasons with the Lakers before retiring last year.
