Here’s the premise: NBA legend Kobe Bryant, animation legend Glen Keane, and music legend John Williams walk into a studio. No, this isn’t the set-up for a joke!

According to Cartoon Brew, the trio are working together to create an animated short based on a poem that Kobe Bryant wrote to announce his retirement last year:

Dear Basketball,

From the moment
I started rolling my dad’s tube socks
And shooting imaginary
Game-winning shots
In the Great Western Forum
I knew one thing was real:

I fell in love with you.

A love so deep I gave you my all —
From my mind & body
To my spirit & soul.

As a six-year-old boy
Deeply in love with you
I never saw the end of the tunnel.
I only saw myself
Running out of one.

And so I ran.
I ran up and down every court
After every loose ball for you.
You asked for my hustle
I gave you my heart
Because it came with so much more.

I played through the sweat and hurt
Not because challenge called me
But because YOU called me.
I did everything for YOU
Because that’s what you do
When someone makes you feel as
Alive as you’ve made me feel.

You gave a six-year-old boy his Laker dream
And I’ll always love you for it.
But I can’t love you obsessively for much longer.
This season is all I have left to give.
My heart can take the pounding
My mind can handle the grind
But my body knows it’s time to say goodbye.

And that’s OK.
I’m ready to let you go.
I want you to know now
So we both can savor every moment we have left together.
The good and the bad.
We have given each other
All that we have.

And we both know, no matter what I do next
I’ll always be that kid
With the rolled up socks
Garbage can in the corner
:05 seconds on the clock
Ball in my hands.
5 … 4 … 3 … 2 … 1

Love you always,
Kobe

Entitled Dear Basketball, the short is set to be an “animated ode to sport” and will be directed by Glen Keane. Kobe Bryant will be co-producing the short through his company, Kobe Studios, alongside Believe Entertainment Group and Sports Illustrated. John Williams will be in charge of the short’s music.

The short is set to premiere in the upcoming fall on the Sports Illustrated website along with mini-documentary videos showcasing how the short was made.

Are you excited for Dear Basketball? What do you think about the worlds of national sport and animation joining forces? What do you think about the trio of Bryant, Keane, and Williams? Let us know in the comments below!