Chadwick Boseman and Kobe Bryant shared a special bond during their short, but budding, friendship.
Boseman, who passed away on Friday at the age of 43 after a four-year battle with colon cancer, spoke about his connection with the LA Lakers legend two months after Bryant tragically died in a helicopter crash in January when he was just 41.
The Black Panther star shared some insight into some of his conversations with Bryant during an episode of the HBO show The Shop: Uninterrupted in March.
Touching: Chadwick Boseman opened up about having a bond with Kobe Bryant in March, just two months after the LA Lakers legend was killed in a helicopter crash in January
‘He’s not somebody that I was best friends with or that I knew really well,’ Chadwick said.
‘But the crazy thing is that in those four conversations, it felt like somebody that I knew really well.’
The two stars first met just before Bryant won the Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film for ‘Dear Basketball’ in 2018.
Revealing: Boseman, who passed away on Friday at the age of 43, talked about meeting Bryant during an episode of the HBO show The Shop: Uninterrupted in March
Budding friendship: The actor revealed that he and Bryant talked about collaborating on a project together when they chatted in 2018
‘It was crazy because we were sitting in the party talking about philosophy and poetry — that’s who he was. He was like, “This is what I’m into right now as an artist, not as a basketball player.” We started talking about it, I’m like “Yo we should do something together.” He was applying the same type of focus that he’s applied to basketball, as a producer or director, whatever,’ Boseman said.
Mesmerized by the five-time NBA champion’s meditative-like focus, Boseman went on to talk about how Bryant took a brief moment to reflect and then brought up the idea of the pair collaborating on a project together.
‘He looked up to me and he said, “Two years.” It’s like he saw the whole thing unfold and he was like, “I need two years.” And I walked away and I said to my fiancé, “Yo, he is who they say he is.”‘
Epic night: The two stars first met just before Bryant won the Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film for ‘Dear Basketball’ in 2018
Sadly Bryant was killed in the helicopter crash in Calabasas, California, along with his daughter Gianna and seven others, before their plans could be realized.
That very same day the news broke of his death, Boseman took to Twitter to share his grief along with a photo of two posing together.
‘I’m heartbroken. Shocked. Husband, Father, Strategist, Philosopher-Poet, Warrior-Athlete, Filmmaker…your focus is magnetic, Kobe. My love goes out to you and your family,’ he wrote.
Heartbroken: The Black Panther star shared his grief over the passing of Bryant on Twitter
The NBA took time out to honor Boseman, former NBA star Cliff Robinson and Hall of Fame college coach Lute Olson before Saturday’s game between the Orlando Magic and Milwaukee Bucks.
The announcer called the actor a ‘close friend of the NBA’ during the tribute, E! News reported.
Robinson, who helped lead the Portland Trail Blazers to two NBA Finals appearances in the early 1990s during his 18-year career, died earlier in the day at the age of 53.
Olson was 85 when passed away on Thursday. He was best known as the head coach of the University of Arizona’s men’s basketball team for 25-years, beginning in 1983. He was praised for having made ‘a significant impact on countless former and current NBA players,’ during the tribute.
Players form both the Magic and Bucks knelt down in a moment of silence after each star was honored.
RIP: The NBA paid tribute to Boseman, former NBA star Cliff Robinson and Hall of Fame college coach Lute Olson before Saturday’s game between the Orlando Magic and Milwaukee Bucks