Today is designated Kobe Bryant Day in California, since the date 8/24 encompasses both of his jersey numbers while playing for the Los Angeles Lakers. This review of his short film Dear Basketball doubles also as a tribute.

If you’ve been a reader of Films Fatale for a while, it’s no secret that I am a major basketball fan. I couldn’t help myself with comparing Kawhi Leonard’s game seven buzzer beater with film. I co-host a Toronto Raptors podcast with some great friends called That’s a Rap Podcast. I don’t exactly try to hide this side of me, even on a film website like this (hey, doesn’t it contextualize me as a writer if you know more about my hobbies and passions?). So, the last seven months have been surreal for me, since I tried to replicate Kobe Bryant’s “mamba” mentality into everything that I do (as I was formerly a quitter at all costs). Completely devastated by the loss of one of my all time favourite players, I couldn’t even bring myself to do this tribute sooner. Seeing as today is Kobe Bryant Day in California, and that his birthday was yesterday (he would have been 42), here we go. Deep breaths.

Dear Basketball is simply Kobe through and through. It might have the overly sentimental tone, which could be blamed on Disney animation legend Glen Keane or on musical icon John Williams’ accompanying score; this is a match made in “feels” heaven. However, this is all Kobe. This is what he wanted through and through. Considering that all of this stemmed from the loving reception he garnered with his Players’ Tribune letter declaring his then-retirement from the National Basketball Association, Kobe wanted to ride this wave one more time and usher in his next ventures. He was done playing basketball, but he would never cease to live basketball. From his mission to train new players (Mamba Sports Academy) to his televised break downs of iconic games with extreme scrutiny (Detail), Kobe willed to spread his biggest passion with everyone from his perspective. So, to him the reception of his letter meant everything. So what if Dear Basketball is sappy? I can’t imagine anyone saying no to the big names that helped him make this passion project short come to life.

The short itself is beautifully animated (well, it’s a series of stunning sketches strung together in a storyboard format), which is the biggest draw here. Kobe’s farewell letter works better as something to be read, but it still makes for a decent foundation for Keane’s striking images. In all reality, Dear Basketball is sweet in all senses, and moving to those that followed the hooping legend (and a major option for that GOAT conversation). To those unfamiliar with basketball, it may seem more like a love letter to the sport than the incredibly difficult farewell that aficionados saw in real time. Either way, Kobe — like he would with any shot (don’t bring up those percentages either) — took the opportunity he saw and seized it. He wound up being the first NBA player (or major league athlete of any sort) to win an Academy Award.

I don’t want to pretend that Dear Basketball is revelatory when it’s more or less just a tender few minutes, even though Kobe Bryant was a favourite of mine and that I still ache knowing that he’s gone. What I do imagine with Dear Basketball is what could have come next. This was clearly only the start for Kobe as a story teller in a visual medium (he co-created The Wizenard Series with Wesley King). He was going back and analyzing old games on TV. He made basketball digestible and exciting for kids, and a source of nutrition for hungry rising stars. This was an addiction he could not let go. We were going to see a phase 2 of Kobe Bryant. His Academy Award win seems like something, but it was more or less like him winning the Slam Dunk Contest back in 1997. You knew more was coming; those championships were ahead. This was far from the end.

With that in mind, and the extremely sudden passing, Dear Basketball now lingers as an apparition of dedication. Knowing that daughter Gianna Bryant (who also died in the same accident as Kobe) had the same drive as her pops, it’s painful to know that many threads of basketball’s future were halted, and a family was forever changed. Dear Basketball is intrinsically introverted, but that’s because Kobe always had his eye on the prize. It’s not perfect, but I’ll forever hold it close to me because of what it represents. What seemed like an accomplished athlete relishing in his options for his very first short now feels like someone who wanted to celebrate being proud of their achievements at whatever cost. Despite being contested, it’s like the Academy knew that this opportunity wasn’t going to come around soon again when delivering their polarizing award. At the end of the day, these are the words of someone who loved their sport until the very end. Dear Basketball is a need to get these thoughts out, and it’s the bridge between the legacy of gold and the beyond we didn’t get a chance to see come to full fruition. At least we got to see a glimpse of Kobe Bryant’s second wind.

Andreas Babiolakis has a Masters degree in Film and Photography Preservation and Collections Management from Ryerson University, as well as a Bachelors degree in Cinema Studies from York University. His favourite times of year are the Criterion Collection flash sales and the annual Toronto International Film Festival.