Kobe Bryant Received Praise From Shaq And Other NBA Players For His Oscar Win

Kobe Bryant is highly regarded by his NBA peers thanks to his Hall of Fame career and reputation as one of the ultimate competitors the NBA has seen. While his contemporaries may not have always been fond of playing against him or even with him, he has the respect of most around the league.

So, when Bryant took home the Oscar for “Best Animated Short” on Sunday night, it came as no surprise that NBA stars from past and present took to Twitter to congratulate the Black Mamba on adding the golden man statue to his collection of basketball awards.

Among the first to fire off a congratulatory tweet was Kobe’s former teammate, rival and now friend again, Shaquille O’Neal. Shaq took to Twitter to note he was both proud and jealous (we appreciate the honesty Shaq) that Bryant now had an Oscar.

Easily the best part of that tweet were the many Kazaam responses that followed.

Many were proud of Kobe for his “shut up and dribble” comment during his speech, pointing out the ridiculous nature of Fox News host Laura Ingraham’s comments towards LeBron James — including James himself.

Others pointed out how absurd it is that Kobe can have as much success as he did as an NBA player and immediately jump into film making and win an Oscar.