In preparation for the Golden State Warriors to make their title defense at the onset of this 2015-16 season, coach Steve Kerr reached out to Bleacher Report to make a special request.
Kerr wanted the website behind Game of Zones, the animated spinoff of HBO's Game of Thrones, to give his Warriors a catered treatment of the cartoon short. He then fed Bleacher Report inside-the-locker-room team jokes from the players, which the developers incorporated to truly bring the animation to life.
In some respects, the animated short played out as a tribute to the NBA champions. Now, with the league's regular season slated to wrap up next week, Game of Zones is preparing to re-launch with another tribute on its mind. In a post Monday, Bleacher Report announced it's giving Kobe Bryant a final salute with its Game of Zones: The Purple Retirement animated series, which is slated to debut Wednesday, exactly one week before the Black Mamba walks off the court for good, retiring after the Los Angeles Lakers' home game against the Utah Jazz on April 13.
If the original Game of Zones was any indication, The Purple Retirement edition should be witty, pointed and downright funny, with excellent animation to boot. We would love to see the series include Bryant's friendships around the league, including that with fellow NBA All-Stars such as LeBron James, Chris Paul, Carmelo Anthony and Dwyane Wade.
We don't know whether all the episodes in the series are finished, but if not, we'd also love to see The Purple Retirement have an animated Kobe give his take on Lakers teammates Nick Young and D'Angelo Russell, who secretly recorded an alleged cheating admission of Young.
Adam Malamut, who works on the series, told Bleacher Report last fall that the Warriors' catered clip had Game of Zones limited to the players it used. However, such a case is out the window with this sendoff for Bryant, as he has more than enough players who could possibly be drawn up and animated to co-star alongside of him. Shaquille O'Neal better be one of them, due to their infamous tenure as teammates.
If Bryant's reaction is anything like how the Warriors responded to their version of Game of Zones, this is going to be pretty entertaining to see roll out and impact viewers.
