Kobe Bryant’s Last Call Before Death Brings Back Flood of Memories for Gerard Butler’s Hollywood Co-Star

Kobe Bryant created legends, moments, and wins wherever he went. When he passed away, it wasn’t just the basketball world but people from every sphere, sports, entertainment, and business who mourned the great loss. And no one understands this better than someone who was inspired by him. Hollywood star O’Shea Jackson Jr. is one of those people. In his recent interview for Den of Thieves 2 starring Gerard Butler, Jackson once again shared how one of his bold texts landed him in a moment with Bryant.

He admitted that he might have been a bit intoxicated at that moment, but he really needed something that could motivate him. And at that time, he knew exactly which person he needed to reach out to. That was when he texted Bryant on X, formerly known as Twitter. The basketball star was already following him on the platform. Jackson was rather straightforward, asking for advice on how to keep going and stay determined. While he was simply asking for a motivating quote or book recommendation, Bryant gave him a number, his contact number.

Jackson didn’t call right away but texted him instead, but it was decided between the two through texts that Bryant would call him sometime. After patiently waiting for two weeks, the Los Angeles Lakers legend kept his word. While Jackson was on his way somewhere in an Uber, he got a call from Bryant. “I was waiting by my phone just waiting for Kobe to hit me and then I was in a uber coming back from a table read and he called me,” Jackson shared.

He asked the driver to turn down the radio, and even the driver was thrilled to hear that Kobe had called. During this 25-minute call, Bryant’s words motivated him. As Jackson recalled, “He (Kobe) said that feeling that you have not done enough or that where you are isn’t good enough and you want more and you don’t know why you want more, hold on to it because that’s the only thing that’s going to make you want to take shots take risk and and uplift yourself. And then like that was the first and only conversation I had with my hero cuz two months later he was gone.” 

This was his first conversation with the 5x NBA champion. Sadly, it was also his last, as two months later, Bryant had passed away in an accident. However, Jackson always remembered his words.

O’Shea Jackson Jr. dedicated his film to Kobe Bryant 

He has always been a huge fan of the 5x NBA champion. Jackson even wrote an emotional message on X after watching the Netflix documentary on Team Redeem, which showed the rare clips of the team led by the veteran player Kobe Bryant practicing hard to win a gold medal in the Olympics.

“Boy that Redeem Team had me crying like a baby. I miss you @kobebryant,” he wrote on X. He even dedicated one of his films to the Lakers legend. Remember Swagger? The sports drama based on the journey of basketball players, their parents, and coaches. 

Jackson dedicated his performance to Bryant. “That’s something that I take to heart. So my performance in ‘Swagger’ is dedicated to Kobe Bryant,” he said on ‘The Ellen Show’. This 10-episode series had Kevin Durant as an executive producer. We’re pretty sure it will continue to be a big inspiration for him.

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