TITLE: Warner Bros. Plans Feature Film on Kobe Bryant’s Turbulent 1996 Draft Night
SLUG: warner-bros-kobe-bryant-draft-night-film
CONTENT:
Warner Bros. has purchased a screenplay that revisits Kobe Bryant’s dramatic entry into the NBA, Variety reported.
Tentatively titled With the 8th Pick, the script by Gavin Johannsen and Alex Sohn centers on the 1996 NBA Draft, when a series of last-minute decisions altered the course of Bryant’s career and league history.
The film’s title refers to the New Jersey Nets, owners of that year’s eighth overall selection. Newly hired head coach John Calipari reportedly pushed for the team to take the 17-year-old guard from Lower Merion High School, but outside pressure ultimately steered the franchise in another direction.
Five picks later, the Charlotte Hornets chose Bryant at No. 13 and immediately traded him to the Los Angeles Lakers for veteran center Vlade Divac. Divac spent two seasons in Charlotte, while Bryant became a five-time NBA champion and one of basketball’s enduring icons.
Then-Nets general manager John Nash is expected to be a prominent character in the movie, which aims to capture the behind-the-scenes turmoil of that pivotal night.
The project marks another link between Bryant and Hollywood. In 2018, he earned an Academy Award for Dear Basketball, the animated short he wrote and narrated as a farewell to the game.
No production timeline or casting details have been announced.
Source: Hoops Wire
