Getty Images Kobe Bryant & Kevin Durant– United States vs Australia at the 2012 Summer Olympics
Brooklyn Nets All-Star Kevin Durant is one of the most decorated superstars in NBA History. The ‘Slim Reaper’ won the NBA’s Most Valuable Player award during his time with the Oklahoma City Thunder and won two championships and two NBA Finals MVPs during his time with the Golden State Warriors. He has also been an All-Star 11 times and has led the league in scoring four times.
Still with all he has accomplished Durant is trying to leave as big of an imprint off the court as he has on the court.
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Kevin Durant Wins Oscar
Sunday the 93rd annual Academy Awards took place in Los Angeles. Jazz guard Michael Conley and Nets star Kevin Durant were executive producers on the film Two Distant Strangers. The project was nominated for an Oscar for Best Live Action Short Film and the two NBA All-Stars took home the award. Conley and Durant joined the late Kobe Bryant on the shortlist of NBA Players to win an Oscar.
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Kobe Bryant Was First NBA Player to Win an Oscar
In 2018, Bryant took home the Oscar for Best Animated Short Film for his project Dear Basketball. The short details the late legend’s journey from being a child to having one of the best NBA careers of all time. The poem in the film is based on the piece that he wrote in The Player’s Tribune to announce his retirement in 2015.
Bryant who was preparing for an even bigger second act in life spoke on what it meant to be the first NBA player to win an Oscar.
“I’ve always been told that as basketball players the expectation is that you play. This is all you know. This is all you do. Don’t think about handling finances. Don’t think about going into business. Don’t think that you want to be a writer — that’s cute. I got that a lot. What do you want to do when you retire? ‘Well, I want to be a storyteller.’ That’s cute,” Bryant told The Undefeated in 2018.
“This is a form of validation for people to look and say, ‘OK, he really can do something other than dribble and shoot.’”
LeBron Could Be Next NBA Player to Win an Oscar
More NBA players are using their brands to venture into film. Reigning NBA Finals Most Valuable Player LeBron James will be the star of the movie of the summer Space Jam 2, the sequel to the blockbuster movie that starred Hall of Famer Michael Jordan.
James recently spoke about what an honor it was to be chosen as the star of the sequel.
“I’m gonna be honest completely with you guys — when I found out about the project, I was like it’s ‘Space Jam’! It’s a movie that I grew up watching. People in the movie that I idolize. I was like absolutely, I gotta do it. There’s no way I can turn down ‘Space Jam’!” James said in his farewell speech to the Space Jam crew via TMZ.
“Growing up in the inner city, as an African-American kid, there’s no way you’re supposed to f****** make it out. And the fact that I’m who I am as an African American adult now with 3 kids of my own, and I made it out of the situations that I was in. This s*** is like extra credit for me man.”
Will LeBron be the next NBA player to win an Oscar?
READ NEXT: Kevin Durant & LeBron James’ Candid 2018 Discussion Had Shocking Twist
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Nets Kevin Durant Joins Exclusive Club with Lakers Legend Kobe Bryant