The NBA community continues to feel the absence of Kobe Bryant, whose sudden passing in January 2020 left a lasting void across the league. Each August, his birthday brings a mix of reflection and reverence, as players and fans remember the guard who defined two decades with the Los Angeles Lakers. This year, the tributes carried added weight, coinciding with news that his story will be revisited on the big screen.
On what would have been Bryant’s 47th birthday, colleagues from across basketball honored him publicly. Pau Gasol, his longtime teammate and close friend, shared messages of remembrance. The Lakers organization marked the occasion with an image of Bryant soaring toward the rim in his original No. 8 uniform, accompanied by the words, “Happy Birthday, Kobe.” Among those who amplified the gesture was LeBron James, who reposted the tribute on his Instagram, a quiet but meaningful acknowledgment from the current face of the franchise.
James and Bryant crossed paths frequently during their playing days. Their meetings began when James entered the league with the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2003, seven years after Bryant had already established himself as one of the sport’s fiercest competitors. Later, their contests continued while James starred for the Miami Heat, before he returned to Cleveland for his second stint with the Cavaliers. Although both were perennial All-Stars, they never faced each other in an NBA Finals, a circumstance that still feels like a missed chapter in league history.
Kobe Bryant Honored By Fans While Warner Brothers Announes His Biopic
Their careers carried striking parallels. Both bypassed college to enter the NBA directly from high school. Bryant was chosen with the 13th pick in the 1996 draft, a decision that famously shaped the fortunes of the Lakers for two decades. James, taken first overall in 2003, has now entered his 23rd professional season, continuing a career of extraordinary longevity. Bryant completed 20 seasons in the league, securing five championships and two Finals MVPs.
A Kobe Bryant biopic is in the works at Warner Bros.
— DiscussingFilm (@DiscussingFilm) August 23, 2025
(Source: Deadline / https://t.co/gcrwTOSs6X) pic.twitter.com/Q35vJpgzFv
A news from Warner Bros. underscored the remembrance of Bryant. It confirmed that a film centered on his draft day is now in development. The project, titled With the 8th Pick, examines the internal debates within the New Jersey Nets front office, who were on the verge of selecting Bryant before choosing otherwise. The screenplay, developed by Alex Sohn and Gavin Johannsen, draws stylistic comparisons to Moneyball and Air, emphasizing the strategic and financial calculations that nearly altered basketball’s future. Producers Tim and Trevor White, known for King Richard, are steering the project in its early stages, though casting and direction remain undecided.
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Rather than offering a broad survey of Bryant’s life, the film narrows its focus to the pivotal weeks before the 1996 draft, when one organizational choice redirected a young prospect to Los Angeles. By concentrating on this decisive episode, Warner Bros. seeks to present Bryant’s legacy through the lens of a single moment, framing the circumstances that set him on the path toward Lakers immortality. For a fan base still marking his birthday with tributes and for a league that continues to grieve his absence, the timing of such a project reinforces how central his story remains to basketball history.
