The king of Los Angeles and Lakers legend Kobe Bryant would’ve turned 47 years old today, only if his life hadn’t been cut short by the tragic helicopter crash that also took away his daughter, Gigi Bryant, and seven others back in 2020. However, even though he isn’t with us today, the Mamba’s legacy has been beautifully carried by his widow, Vanessa Bryant, and three daughters, as the 43-year-old took Instagram to pen a heartfelt message for her late husband on what would’ve been his special day.

Vanessa posted a beautiful picture of her kissing Kobe from when the couple visited Italy. While the post in itself was quite warm and nostalgic, it was the caption that truly struck a chord with the fans and supporters of the NBA legend. “We love and miss you and Gigi so much. Sending our love to you. Happy birthday, baby. @kobebryant ❤️” She wrote. However, wasn’t all what made the post even more special was Vanessa’s song selection.

The 43-year-old accompanied the picture with the song “Sending My Love” by Zhané. This was truly a lovely gesture from Vanessa, who continues to do a great job at not just carrying Kobe Bryant’s legacy but also raising their three daughters– Natalia, Bianka, and Capri. Meanwhile, it wasn’t just Mamba’s family that honored him on his birthday, but Kobe’s team, the Los Angeles Lakers, also showed love to their former superstar through a stunning post on X.

The Purple & Gold posted a graphic of Kobe repping his iconic No. 8 jersey going for a dunk with a really special message. “The heart of Los Angeles – Happy Birthday, Kobe,” the Lakers posted. The franchise paid their respects to the forward for his lasting impact not just to the Lakers organization but to the game of basketball. However, this wasn’t all that unfolded on the five-time NBA champion’s birthday, with Warner Bros. Pictures making a huge announcement involving Kobe Bryant.

A Kobe Bryant movie is in the works at Warner Bros.

There are only a handful of players who take a more important place in Los Angeles Lakers history than the late Kobe Bryant. Over his illustrious career, which was around two decades long, the Mamba became the poster boy for the Purple and Gold, leading them to seven NBA Finals, five championships. However, we would’ve witnessed none of this had Jerry West and the Lakers not traded veteran center Vlade Divac to the Hornets in exchange for the No. 13th pick in the 1996 NBA Draft.

That’s really some draft night story, and the good news is it’s set to become a movie, thanks to Warner Bros. According to sources, “A Kobe Bryant movie, “With the 8th Pick”, is in the works, depicting the decisions that nearly had Kobe drafted by the New Jersey Nets. The movie is being described as Social Network meets Air meets Moneyball.” The production company has acquired the rights to a spec script to put this movie into production, which should be a great watch.

While sports movies like these have already been very successful in recent times, what makes things more interesting for this Kobe Bryant movie is the lofty comparisons that it has drawn despite just being in the initial days of his commencement. So, if the money is anywhere close to the likes of Moneyball and Air, which are some of the best sports films based on true stories that depict what goes down behind the scenes of these major organizations, it should be a blockbuster.

More so, because Kobe’s draft night story doesn’t lack any drama and has all the ingredients to make a stunning film. From the Lakers convincing Divac to sign with the Hornets, after he threatened to retire when first told about it, to Kobe telling teams higher up the draft that he’ll play in Italy if he was picked by a team he didn’t want to play, there’s a lot to explore for the Warner Bros., as everyone is excited how they approach this movie and what will be the end result.