It's recently been announced that a biopic about Kobe Bryant is currently in the works. Bryant is undoubtedly one of the best NBA players ever whose influence still impacts the youth today. It's not entirely clear what the movie will be about, but if they want to make the best movie possible about Bryant, the Utah Jazz should definitely be involved.
Since this news was released just today, details are likely still being hashed out on what the biopic could be about. For the time being, it sounds like it will revolve around Bryant as he was about to embark on his NBA career.
A Kobe Bryant biopic is in the works at Warner Bros, per @DEADLINE
— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) August 23, 2025
“The project is told from the point of view of John Nash, the General Manager of the New Jersey Nets, and incoming coach John Calipari who really wanted Bryant. However, the New Jersey Nets were a broke… pic.twitter.com/WsBo0nHb1N
But there's no telling what could change between now and when the movie starts filming because movie ideas constantly change as they head into production. If the film really wants to capture Bryant's NBA career in full, they need to highlight his time playing against the Jazz, because the Lakers' failure to beat them in the 90s was Bryant's first NBA failure.
When the Lakers brought in Bryant and Shaquille O'Neal in 1996, there was a lot of hype that first started with Shaq, but it didn't take long for Kobe to show he was a generational superstar in the making as an MJ clone. Nor did it take long for the Lakers to re-establish themselves as title contenders.
However, what doesn't get mentioned much about Bryant's legacy is his part in the Lakers' straight-up embarrassing themselves against the Jazz both years the two teams faced off in the playoffs in 1997 and 1998. The Lakers were swept in 1997 and went through a gentleman's sweep the following year. Bryant had a hand in their underwhelming playoff run.
While the infamous four airball game was only one game, Bryant's numbers in both series were unquestionably awful. In 1997, he averaged 8.8 points, 1.8 assists, and two turnovers a game while shooting 31.6% from the field and 21.1% from three in the Western Conference Semifinals matchup against the Lakers.
It wasn't much better in 1998, where the Lakers had their rematch against the Jazz in the Western Conference Finals. In five games, he averaged 10 points, one assist, and 1.8 turnovers while shooting 50% from the field and zero from three.
Many will claim that Bryant was young, so of course he was going to struggle, and yeah, that's the point. Every all-timer had obstacles to overcome. In Bryant's case, it was the Jazz. Granted, those Lakers teams never beat those Jazz teams that featured Karl Malone and John Stockton, but that was what pushed Bryant to become the player he did.
Don't worry Kobe fans, he got them back
Bryant never beat the '90s Jazz, but he definitely left his mark on the Jazz teams led by Deron Williams. Bryant and the Lakers beat some of the most underrated Jazz squads in franchise history, beating them in back-to-back-to-back to years from 2008 to 2010.
There's no question that the Lakers played a hand in ending the Williams era in Utah. Bryant's numbers were much better in the late 2000s than they were in the late 1990s
2008: 33.2 points, 7.2 assists, seven rebounds, 49.1% shooting from the field.
2009: 27.4 points, 5.6 assists, five rebounds, 46.6% shooting from the field, 35.3% shooting from three.
2010: 32 points, 5.8 assists, 3.8 rebounds, 52.3% shooting from the field.
It highlights his progression over his career. There's no doubt about the "Mamba Mentality" but he had growing pains like most all-timers, and he overcame them in due time. The Jazz basically were the team that forced him to evolve.
And if that's not enough, Kobe and the Lakers beat the Jazz in his NBA finale in what was truly a vintage performance for the ages. That kind of history should not be overlooked period, especially for a biopic looking to capture the full scope of Kobe Bryant.