The sports world recently remembered the late Los Angeles Lakers star, Kobe Bryant, on what would have been his 47th birthday on August 23. The legendary NBA player was shockingly taken from the world in 2020 following a helicopter accident that also claimed the life of his daughter. The fourth all-time leader in NBA scoring and five-time world champion was only 41 years old. Bryant played 20 seasons with the Lakers alongside Shaquille O’Neal and coach Phil Jackson. He was an 18-time All-Star and was named the league’s MVP for the 2007-2008 season. Bryant would retire from professional basketball in 2016 at the age of 37.

Now, Variety is reporting that Warner Bros. is working on a movie about Kobe Bryant’s draft day in the NBA. The studio reportedly purchased a spec script, which was penned by screenwriters Alex Sohn and Gavin Johannsen. The script is about the dramatic turn of events that led Bryant to play for Lakers after first being drafted by the Charlotte Hornets with the 13th pick in the 1996 NBA Draft. The screenplay, which currently sports the title With the 8th Pick?, is being described as Moneyball meets the Matt Damon/Ben Affleck movie Air. Sources tell Variety that Warner Bros. snatched the script early before other studios would have the chance to bid on it. Star Thrower and Religion of Sports will be producing the project.

Per Variety, the circumstances surrounding Bryant’s draft day involved him being picked by the Hornets, then the “Hornets then traded Bryant to the Lakers for Vlade Divac. The New Jersey Nets and its general manager, John Nash, had the eighth pick. Nash has previously said that he wanted to draft Bryant with the pick, but was overruled by Nets coach John Calipari.” Warner Bros. had no comment on this news as of yet and the industry insider, The InSneider, was the first to report the news of the script’s genesis. Sohn and Johannsen are represented by Verve Talent and Literary Agency. Sohn is also managed by Lit Entertainment Group and the latter by Gotham Group.

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