Before his untimely passing, late basketball legend Kobe Bryant was building his legacy off the court as well.

In 2018, he even won an Oscar for his animated short film, Dear Basketball, under his production company, Granity Studios. However, he had no plans to stop there.
According to an interview Bryant did with CBS "This Morning," back in November 2019, the sports icon had plans to building an animation studio specifically targeted to young Black creatives, and their unique narratives.

"I want a diverse animation team. That is the opportunity. I want young African American children to understand that there is a serious [entertainment] industry that you can pursue. We can't just talk about it. We've got to be about it," Bryant told CBS.

READ MORE: Five Time Kobe Bryant Was A Legend Off The Basketball Court
According to Bruce W. Smith, the creator of Disney's animated hit The Proud Family, Bryant even met with Sergio Pablos, the creator of the Despicable Me, franchise, for dinner and a discussion about future animation projects.
In an interview with Double Toasted, Smith said, "[Bryant] was heavily invested in starting an animation studio. So for the past six months or so Kobe and I have been in deep talks about making that happen," he stated. Smith continued, "So we're together finding artists to galvanize his dream and Kobe was, like they were saying, Kobe was beginning his second act and animation was going to play a huge part in that."