The late Los Angeles Lakers legend Kobe Bryant hired a documentary crew to record the final season of his storied National Basketball Association career in 2015-16, it has emerged.
Bryant’s camera crew were given unprecedented behind-the-scenes access in locker rooms both at home and on the road, in the training room, throughout the team’s practice facility and even on the team’s charter plane. As many as six personal camera crews were present during Bryant’s final game, in which he memorably scored 60 points.
It is unclear what will happen to the footage. But it seems highly likely that it will be used to make a multi-part documentary series, similar to the Michael Jordan-themed The Lance Dance, which is currently generating huge viewing figures on ESPN.
Filmmaker Gotham Chopra, who made the 2015 documentary Kobe Bryant’s Muse with Bryant, was involved in the project. It is believed that the Chopra will seek the permission of the NBA and Bryant’s family in a few years to complete the project.
Bryant was killed, alongside his daughter Gianna and seven others, in a helicopter crash in California in January.
Former Lakers public relations executive recalled in an interview with ESPN: “They had unprecedented and, by far, greater access than anyone else ever. We certainly allowed them to do everything we could within what the league would allow, and sometimes, with a wink and look-the-other-way, allowed them even more.”