Sorry, but Shaquille O’Neal and Steph Curry did NOT win Oscars on Sunday for ‘The Queen of Basketball’

Many media outlets like ESPN (plus many of their on-air hosts), TMZ and even NBA.com are reporting that NBA Hall of Famer Shaquille O’Neal and current superstar Steph Curry won Oscars on Sunday. But that is simply NOT true. When “The Queen of Basketball” took the Academy Award for Best Documentary Short on Sunday night, the only person to receive an actual Oscar was Ben Proudfoot, the director and producer. He was also the person accepting the award at the ceremony.

The Oscars website (see photo above) and the IMDb awards section confirm that Proudfoot is the only person credited with an Academy Award win. Adam Segal from the 2050 Publicity Group and David Magdael from David Magdael and Associates, which handled all campaigning for the film, also confirm this information in an email to Gold Derby. O’Neal and Curry are credited as executive producers along with quite a few other people but were not eligible to receive an Oscar. Here is the official rule below:

1. Nominees and Award Recipients

1. The nominee(s) should be the individual(s) most involved in the key creative aspects of the filmmaking process. A maximum of two persons may be designated as nominees, one of whom must be the credited director who exercised directorial control, and the other of whom must have a director or producer credit. If a producer is named, that individual must have performed a major portion of the producing functions, in accordance with Academy producer criteria. Production companies or persons with the screen credit of executive producer, co- producer or any credit other than director or producer shall not be eligible as nominees for the motion picture.
2. All individuals with a “producer” or “produced by” credit on films that reach the semifinal round will automatically be vetted. The Documentary Branch Executive Committee will determine which producer, if any, is eligible to receive a nomination. In the unlikely event of a dispute, filmmakers may appeal the Committee’s decision.

Another NBA legend, the late Kobe Bryant from the Los Angeles Lakers, did win an Oscar at the 2018 ceremony. He and “Dear Basketball” director Glen Keane prevailed for Best Animated Short, and both men accepted their trophies on stage.

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