Pyle of List

After watching his performance of an athlete with a back injury on Sunday, Kobe Bryant seems like a lock for an Academy Award nomination. But for what role? The aforementioned gutty, injured hoopster? His 2007-2008 midseason run as classy teammate extraordinaire alongside Pau Gasol? Or his method-acting laden ongoing role of starring as Michael Jordan in the eventual biopic? Compare them below:

He nails Jordan and classy teammate, but the athlete persevering through injury was too over the top and inconsistent for my liking.  You can’t just grab your back on defense and missed shots and expect an Oscar nod. A Golden Globe maybe, but not an Oscar. Which is why his melodramatic reaction 45 seconds into the first video is inauthentic. And most athletes try to play down their pain, instead of play it up as Kobe chose to do. I imagine he’ll do much better in the Game 5 sequel.