Exclusive: NBA Icon Kobe Bryant Talks Game Plan After Hoops
The former NBA star has also met with J.J. Abrams.
-- Kobe Bryant may have retired this past April after 20 years in the NBA, but the icon is not "ansty" at all.
"I've been keeping busy," he told ABC News with a smile when asked if he misses the game.
The five-time NBA champion opened up about his game plan after basketball, which includes his own studio. His first film project is a short inspired by the "Dear Basketball" poem he published late last year to announce his retirement from the game.
"Storytelling has always been something I've been interested in since I was a kid," he told ABC News last week in Los Angeles. "What we want to do now is figure out a way to connect to the youth and teach them sports lessons.
"Through sports you can really understand a lot about the inner self ... It's still a work in progress, but I have a great vision of what's to come. Now it's just a matter of building out the individual stories."
Bryant may be a basketball legend, but production is still new to him. And true to his killer instinct, Bryant is tirelessly working on his new craft.
"I'm constantly learning, a lot of reading, watching films and shows, just listening and sitting around with certain creators," he said. "[Steven] Spielberg, J.J. Abrams, John Williams, Mark Parker, Jony Ive, so many great minds to speak to, to learn from, there's no better way to test stories that you have," he said. "When it's completed, I can give it to them. They'll be the greatest judge, they'll be able to pick it apart and say, 'I think you should do this' or 'Maybe you think about doing this.' I couldn't ask for better mentors."
He's not afraid to take criticism from these great filmmakers.
"It has to be that way. You have to be able to sit here and hold each other accountable and be truthful," he continued. "The idea is to put stories out here that have some kind of impact. You have to be brutally honest about the story ... We want to put out stories that are great and can move culture."