Kobe Bryant to be honoured at Oscars 2020

Los Angeles Lakers's Kobe Bryant hugs daughter Gianna on court during the warm-ups before the NBA All-Star Game in Toronto on February 14, 2016. AP/PTI

Basketball legend Kobe Bryant, who died in a helicopter crash on January 26, will be honoured at Oscars 2020, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has said. The Academy is planning to acknowledge the death of the late NBA icon at the February 9 ceremony, The Hollywood Reporter said quoting sources. Bryant, who won an Academy Award in 2018 for animated short film "Dear Basketball," had been honoured with a moment's silence at the Oscars nominees' luncheon on Monday.

The Los Angeles Laker player wrote, executive produced and lent his voice to "Dear Basketball", his five-minute autobiographical short. Bryant, 41, died in a helicopter crash on Sunday in suburban Los Angeles that also claimed the life of his 13-year-old daughter Gianna and seven others. The news of the crash sent shock waves throughout Los Angeles, where he played for 20 years with the Lakers and won five NBA championships.

The Academy on Sunday paid tributes to Bryant in an Instagram post. "They doubted a kid could make it in the NBA and he proved them wrong. They doubted he could win a championship and he proved them wrong. They doubted he could make movies and he won an Oscar. Like all great artists, Kobe Bryant proved the doubters wrong. Rest in peace," the post read.

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