FACT CHECK: Did Shaquille O’Neal and Stephen Curry Win an OSCAR in 2022?

Raahib Singh
|Published March 13, 2023

The city of Los Angeles and the entire world came to a standstill yesterday as the 95th Academy Awards aired from Hollywood. While the regular season action continued as scheduled in the NBA, fans were torn between watching the award ceremony or the Knicks taking on the Lakers.

No NBA fan can think about the Oscars without mentioning how Kobe Bryant was the first NBA personality to win the prestigious award. Last year, Shaquille O’Neal and Stephen Curry made the front page of every media house covering the NBA. As Queen of Basketball won the Academy Award for Best Documentary Short, many publications, even NBA.com, put out articles about the two basketball players having won the award.

However, did Shaq and Steph actually win the oscar?

Also Read: A Porsche, That Michael Jordan Lost in a Golf Bet, Sold for $500,000 in Auction Last Year

Fact Check: Did Shaquille O’Neal and Stephen Curry win the Oscar?

No, Shaquille O’Neal and Stephen Curry did not win the Oscar for Queen of Basketball. The duo was involved in the film. They were the executive producers and top promoters of the short film. The person who won the Oscar was Ben Proudfoot, the film’s director and producer.

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Queen of Basketball was a short film about the life of Lusia Harris, the first woman to score a basket in Olympic women’s basketball history. She was also officially the first woman to be drafted by an NBA team.

Before the idea of the film got to Shaquille O’Neal, he had no idea who Harris was. Despite being a Hall-of-Famer, Lucia did not have the recognition she deserved. Having names such as Steph and Shaq involved with the project helped spread the word about the film and educate people about Lucia.

Is Kobe Bryant the only NBA personality to have won an OSCAR?

Yes, after the claims about Shaq and Steph having won an Oscar were cleared, there is only one name from the NBA who has won an Oscar. That man is none other than Kobe Bryant. Dear Basketball won the Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film in 2018. It was written by Kobe and directed by Glen Keane.

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Both Kobe and Glen received the award for Dear Basketball.

Also Read: Having Spent $10,000 on his Wedding Dress, Dennis Rodman was Once Ridiculed by Oscar Winner Brendan Fraser


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About the author

Raahib Singh

Raahib Singh

Raahib Singh is an NBA Editor at The SportsRush. A Computer Science Engineer by qualification, Raahib's passion for sports drew him toward TSR. He started playing basketball when he was 14, and fell in love with the sport ever since. His interest in the NBA developed at the same time as when Stephen Curry put the entire league on notice. Raahib was spellbound by Steph and the Warriors and has been a fan since. From starting off as a Warriors fan, Raahib has evolved into someone who can never miss a good game of basketball. He converts his love for the game and the knowledge he has gained into the articles he writes. In his spare time, he enjoys cricket, going for walks, and murder mysteries.

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