Kobe Bryant Gets Oscar Nom + Our Favorite Movie Performances By NBA Players
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Kobe Bryant was just nominated for an Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film for his movie, “Dear Basketball,” which was inspired by a retirement poem Bryant wrote that appeared in The Players’ Tribune.
However, while Bryant may be soon adding an Oscar to his trophy case, it got us thinking, would Bryant be the first NBA player to ever win an Oscar for a movie?
Plenty of NBA players like Shaquille O’Neal, Michael Jordan, Ray Allen and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar have been in films, with one film in particular being a great one.
In fact, let’s take a look back at some of our favorite movie performances by NBA players.
He Got Game
If any movie featuring an NBA player should have been nominated for an Oscar, it’s Spike Lee’s He Got Game.
NBA Champion and future Hall of Famer, Ray Allen provided a great performance as Jesus Shuttlesworth, which some found surprising considering he had little acting experience. Nevertheless, Allen brought the role of Jesus to life and made us cheer for him and cry for him. Plus the film also featured Academy Award winner Denzel Washington, who played the role of Jesus’s father.
Space Jam
You can’t mention basketball movies or any movie list for that matter without mentioning the classic movie Space Jam which feature NBA legend Michael Jordan.
Keep in mind that Jordan’s acting wasn’t quite up to Ray Allen’s in He Got Game, but no list of hoops movies is complete without this classic on it. Plus, its a great movie with plenty of funny moments that all steam from a great cast that included Bill Murray, Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck and so many more!
Airplane
Another classic movie with an NBA player in it, is the 1980’s comedy Airplane.
The movie feature another NBA legend by the name of Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. Even though his role was small, Abdul-Jabbar’s role as co-pilot Roger Murdock remains one of the most memorable scenes in the movie, mainly because we can’t help but laugh as a young boy on the plane asks if he’s actually the real basketball player himself.
Like Mike
Like Mike is another corny but classic film that tells the story of an orphan boy who gets basketball talents after finding a pair of Michael Jordan’s shoes and ends up playing in the NBA.
Even though it starred big names like Bow Wow and Morris Chestnut, the highlight of the film for a lot of fans were the NBA cameos, which included Dirk Nowitzki, Allen Iverson, Chris Webber, Vince Carter and many more.
Whether it was Allen Iverson being crossed over, Vince Carter getting dunked on or even Dirk Nowitzki asking a kid for his autograph, every moment in the film with these NBA stars led to a smile or laughter.
Blue Chips
Most people remember Shaquille O’Neal for his role in the movie Kazaam where he plays a large but magical genie. Some even know him for some of his recent roles in movies like Grown Ups 2.
However, the role he earned more respect from critics and fans was Blue Chips, which believe it or not was his first movie role.
Keep in mind that he played a character that was very similar to himself but overall it was still a solid performance by the big man.
Kobe Bryant Gets Oscar Nom + Our Favorite Movie Performances By NBA Players was originally published on hot963.com
