Kobe Bryant's retirement is imminent, and so the Los Angeles Lakers star teamed up with Apple TV for a new commercial in which young actor Michael B. Jordan, who recently appeared in "Creed," is set to play Bryant in a film.
And the commercial is hilarious.
In his trailer, Bryant calls on the Apple TV to play old footage of an Afro-wielding LA Laker dominating the 2000 NBA Finals.
"Cold blooded assassin," Bryant describes himself to Jordan, as he tells the actor, "That's who you're playing in this movie."
Jordan, though, responds with a funny line that hints at Bryant's age and the role as he sees it: "Like a hero on the verge of a steep decline."
Perplexed, Bryant is not amused and begins to argue.
"There's no decline," Bryant says. "It's all ascension."
When Jordan explains that the film follows Bryant from the beginning to the end and not just the basketball star's glory years, Bryant no longer seems interested in continuing the conversation.
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"Get out of my trailer," Bryant says with a cold, firm voice that hits the comedic mark perfectly. "Get out."
On his way out, Jordan grabs a plum to which Bryant hilariously replies, "That's not your plum."
Bryant's willingness to go along with the jokes about his old age serves as the vehicle for this ad and why it comes off as genuinely hilarious. With Bryant's final NBA game arriving on Wednesday, the timing of the 37-year-old appearing in this commercial is no accident.
