LA Lakers star Kobe Bryant‘s story might be making it to the big screen as the movie With the 8th Pick has landed at Warner Bros, Deadline reported.

Currently, there is no director attached to the project which tells the story from the point of view of John Nash, the General Manager of the New Jersey Nets, as well as John Calipari, the incoming coach who wanted to sign Bryant. The legend was of course more keen on Lakers than Nets, given that he was a fan of the former and his Adidas deal would mean more with the Lakers. Plus, the Nets were broke at the time. However, if Bryant had been Calipari’s pick, then it might have changed the course of NBA forever – something the film seeks to explore.

The movie has reportedly been described as a Social Network meets Air meets Moneyball with some thriller elements thrown into the mix. While more details about the project are awaited, there is speculation over who might play Kobe in the new movie.

Who could play Kobe Bryant in new movie?

Fans have been hit by the ‘Mamba mentality’ already and are asking who could essay the role. Here are some actors who could play the late Lakers legend.

Michael B Jordan

The actor has been in top form with intense performances in movies like Sinners and the Creed series. Jordan also played a young Kobe during an Apple commercial. “That was pretty cool and interesting. He’s the GOAT. He’s one of the greatest of all time, so to be able to kind of talk to him and spit basketball, that was pretty cool,” Jordan had said on Jimmy Kimmel Live in 2020.

Apart from that, Jordan has also openly admitted to drawing inspiration from Kobe for his Creed movie character.

Mahershala Ali

Ali, the Oscar winner, known for movies like the Green Book could also be a good fit, with a Reddit user posting on the NBA forum quite some years back that Ali’s smile would remind fans of the Mamba’s own smile.

Leslie Odom Jr

Leslie Odom Jr is a hugely versatile actor who’s made his mark in diverse projects like Hamilton and Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery. The Emmy award winner would also bring the acting chops to do justice to the role.

King Richard producers Tim and Trevor White of Star Thrower Entertainment are producing this project along with Ryan Stowell – the head of film & TV at Tom Brady & Michael Strahan’s Religion of Sports. Gotham Chopra, the company’s co-founder is also involved in the project.