Five time NBA champion, 18 time all-star, 2008 NBA league MVP, and now the recipient of an Academy Award. After Kobe Bryant retired it was thought, that like most former stars, Bryant would never been seen in the public eye again. It turns out that Bryant has different plans for how he will spend the rest of his life. On Sunday night, Kobe Bryant won an Oscar award for his contributions in the short film Dear Basketball.

Many former and current NBA players took to social media to give props to Bryant on yet another accomplishment. Lebron James took to Twitter to write this congratulatory note preceding the news: Salute @kobebryant on that Oscar!! #WeAreMoreThanShutUpDribble #UJustContinueToSitBackAndWatch. Lebron had high praise for Bryant’s film, saying it was “phenomenal.”

James was also asked if he ever had aspirations to win an Oscar. James replied with: “Naw, it’s never been one of my goals. But now that I’m in a movie and film and TV business and doing so many things, if at some point we can be nominated and win the Oscar, that would be something that I never thought that would happen for sure. We’ve got some things in the works, so we’ll see what happens.” Once again Bryant is opening up new doors, not only on the court, but off it as well.

James was not the only one to complement Bryant on his great achievement, as Magic Johnson, Shaquille O’Neal and many others wanted to acknowledge the Black Mamba on his rare feat.

On Feb. 18 Fox news anchor  Laura Ingraham called out Lebron James and Kevin Durant to “shut up and dribble.” This comment came after James and Durant were being critical of President Donald Trump.

This award comes for Bryant at a time where there is an abundance of tension surrounding athletes and political figures. Bryant acknowledged this in his acceptance speech. “I mean, as basketball players, we are really supposed to shut up and dribble. But I am glad we do a little bit more than that.”

Kobe Bryant has once again started a new trend. It will not be long before many other retired greats follow in Bryant’s footsteps. Bryant is a beacon of hope for everybody, showing the world that players should never “shut up and dribble.”