Five-time NBA champion and future Hall of Famer, Kobe Bryant won the Oscar for Best Animated Short Film, along with veteran animator Glen Keane at the 90th annual Academy Awards on March 4 with their work "Dear Basketball."

"As basketball players, we're really supposed to shut up and dribble, but we're glad we do a little bit more than that," said Kobe after receiving the trophy. He then expressed his gratitude to his team and his family members who are "his inspiration."

"Dear Basketball" defeated "Negative Space," "Garden Party," "LOU" and "Revolting Rhymes" to bring home the 90th Oscar for Best Animated Film, with Kobe as its executive producer.

This video was played at the retirement ceremony for Kobe's No. 8 and No. 24 jerseys on December 18, 2017 at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. The film's name comes from the poem Kobe wrote in 2015, announcing his decision to leave the NBA.  

In the video, a story about how the "Black Mamba" grew from a basketball-loving kid into one of the greatest players in NBA history was told in a hand-drawn animated film. Accompanied by melodious music, for basketball fans, the film is a reminder of the most simple, original memories of the sport.

The news of Kobe winning an Oscar earned various congratulations on social media. ESPN immediately tagged Kobe by tweeting "Oscar winner" with an altered photo of Kobe holding an Oscar statue instead of the 2010 NBA final champion trophy. The Los Angeles Lakers posted "Congratulations!! More hardware for the Mamba" on its official Twitter account.

NBA legend Magic Johnson posted "Congratulations to my good friend Kobe Bryant for winning the Oscar for best animated short film. Well deserved." Kobe's biggest foe between 2008 and 2010, Paul Pierce wrote "Props to Black Mamba b-ball titles Oscars what's next." Kobe's former teammate, Shaquille O'Neal said on Twitter "Congrats to KOBE first Oscar that's big bro. Proud of you, Big honor for you and your family. I'm jealous lol."

In true basketball fashion, besides working as the executive producer, Kobe also built an experienced team around him. Two of the core members is famed animator Glen Keane and composer John Towner Williams.

Keane who has won numerous awards including the 2007 Winsor McCay Award for lifetime contribution to the field of animation, was originally concerned about joining the team, as he didn't know much about basketball. But he was persuaded by Kobe's confidence, and finished thousands of drawings by carefully observing every frame of Kobe's every movement.

Like Keane, John Williams is not familiar with basketball either. However, once he finished listening to Kobe reading the poem "Dear Basketball," the Hollywood Bowl Hall of Famer suspended his scoring work for the new Star Wars movie and threw himself into the making of the animated short film.