A Kobe Bryant biopic titled "With the 8th Pick" is in the works at Warner Bros, focusing on how he nearly became a New Jersey Net in 1996—a moment that could have changed the course of the NBA forever.
The Los Angeles Lakers legend and NBA icon Kobe Bryant enjoyed one of the most extraordinary careers in basketball history. Yet questions still linger about how he ended up with the Lakers on draft night in 1996.
Kobe Bryant
Kobe Bryant
Position: SG
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Height: 198 cm
Weight: 93 kg
Birth place: Philadelphia, United States of America
After slipping to the 13th pick and being traded to Los Angeles, the circumstances behind that pivotal moment have remained shrouded in speculation.
Now, nearly three decades later, a new biopic titled "With the 8th Pick" will aim to uncover how close Bryant came to joining the New Jersey Nets—and how that single twist of fate could have changed the NBA forever.
"The project is told from the point of view of John Nash, the General Manager of the New Jersey Nets, and incoming coach John Calipari who really wanted Bryant," Deadline reports.
"However, the New Jersey Nets were a broke organization, and Bryant was an LA Lakers fan. Not to mention, Bryant’s sneaker deal with Adidas would be worth more with the Lakers than had he signed with the Nets."
"Bryant was being courted to become Calipari’s first NBA draft pick, a move that could have changed the course of the NBA forever. It’s being described as Social Network meets Air meets Moneyball with a thriller bent," Deadline adds.
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