The rousing success of the premiere of The Last Dance, a 10-part docuseries highlighting Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls' 1997-98 season, could pave the way for Los Angeles Lakers legend Kobe Bryant having a version of his own.
According to “Muse” director Gotham Chopra, the Lakers great was followed closely during his last two seasons in the league, which could make for some interesting film for his own docuseries.
“There's a lot of stuff that exists,” said Chopra. “Kobe was every bit the shrewd businessman that Michael was.
“The article that Ramona [Shelburne] posted about the origins of The Last Dance, part of it was Michael controlled that footage with the NBA, of course. But neither party could do anything with it without the other party. Kobe made sure there was a level of control that he had with him.”
Muse director @gothamchopra tells @VeniceMase & @LAIreland he had shot lots of 'great' unseen Kobe footage. Could we see it in a future doc like #TheLastDance?
More now on 710 AM ESPN https://t.co/Wda75IMccI pic.twitter.com/RhJWx3pgYK
— ESPN Los Angeles (@ESPNLosAngeles) April 22, 2020
Due to Bryant controlling part of the permissions for this film, it would likely have to be a drawn-out process in which Bryant's family gets to assess the footage before it's greenlit for production.
That surely complicates matters a bit, considering this won't be pitched anytime soon with the family still reeling from his loss earlier this year. Though the Chopra and company could approach Bryant's family years down the line and see if they're interested in bringing this film to light.
Unfortunately, film-wise, the last two years of Bryant's career with the Lakers were not as interesting as Jordan's last year with the Bulls — one that came with a three-peat and was mired by pay disputes and personnel squabbles.
Bryant's Lakers struggled and were rather pitiful in the last stretch of his career, save for a 60-point last hurrah that would make for an interesting movie on its own.
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