Michael Jordan’s The Last Dance docuseries garnered a lot of attention at the time it came out. A Netflix special, the docuseries extensively covered Michael Jordan’s career over 10 50-minute long episodes. But before MJ released his documentary, Kobe Bryant had worked on something similar with Spike Lee.
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Spike Lee once worked on a documentary with Kobe Bryant titled ‘Kobe Doin’ Work’. The documentary was in association with 40 Acres and a Mule Filmworks and ESPN Films, and would cover Bryant before, during, and after a regular season game.
The documentary aimed at highlighting Bryant’s mentality, work ethic, and what made him such a great competitor. Kobe wore a microphone throughout the day, capturing in-game, bench, and locker-room conversations. The Los Angeles Lakers legend was followed around by 30 cameras for the documentary, which was also given unprecedented access throughout the Staples Center. Spike Lee even revealed why he chose Kobe for the documentary.
“I’m a big basketball fan. It was obvious. He was having an MVP-type year, in which he did win the MVP. Also, the Lakers looked like they were going to take it to the Finals. And I wanted them to beat the Celtics. I hate the Celtics. But the Celtics won. But I don’t think I was taking a gamble by choosing Kobe.”
As easy as it sounds, the team did hit a snag while making the documentary. Sportswriter and critic Bill Simmons recently shared a short story of how Kobe Bryant refused to let the cameras shoot him unless he got more money from the documentary.
In the video, Simmons narrates how the whole ordeal took place. Simmons said, “So, they show up for the day of the game. Kobe won’t come out of his house. He’s like, ‘No, get these guys out of here.’ they’re like, ‘What?!’ And he goes, ‘I want to make more. Give me more money for this. This is too much of my time.’ They’re like, ‘What???’ So, over the next, like, 90 minutes, his agent quickly negotiates more money for Kobe Bryant. Spike Lee is there, Spike can’t get him out to come out of the house. And guess what? Kobe got paid and Kobe decided to do some work.”
As bad as it may sound at first, it is hard to blame Kobe Bryant for his outburst. After all, in the name of a documentary, his every little movement was essentially being put under the microscope, something that likely resulted in a complete lack of privacy. So, it’s no surprise that after a point, Bryant felt like he wasn’t being paid enough for what he was giving up. And in the end, he got the amount he felt he deserved.
Kobe Bryant’s career earnings
Kobe Bryant played 20 seasons in the NBA for the Los Angeles Lakers. Over his two-decade-long tenure in the league, Bryant won five NBA championships with the team, along with numerous individual accolades as well.
According to HoopsHype, throughout his career, Bryant earned about $328 million through his NBA salaries. The 2013-14 season was when Bryant was paid the most throughout his career in terms of his salary.
However, according to Forbes, Bryant made well over $680 million through his NBA salary, brand endorsements, and other investments he had at the time.
Bryant was a savant when it came to basketball. But he wasn’t unaware of his financial dealings off the court as well. So, it always made sense to Bryant to get paid a fair amount of money for his time, given how much he had been earning from his other sources. The documentary Kobe Doing Work aired on ESPN on May 16, 2009.
