The NBA is a star-driven league and now, more than ever, the league's top guys are getting their shine in the spotlight. In the latest star-powered project, the NBA will partner with Netflix to launch a new documentary that captures a behind-the-scenes glimpse into the game.
"Sources: Netflix is creating a new NBA documentary series modeled after its NFL 'Quarterback' show," reported Shams Charania in a tweet. "The five players chosen for first season of the project: LeBron James, Jayson Tatum, Jimmy Butler, Anthony Edwards, and Domantas Sabonis."
The NFL has a similar project with 'Hard Knocks,' but this series will focus on individuals over teams, with each player mentioned above seemingly making up one of the five episodes. The project is reportedly being directed, in part, by James' SpringHill Company, who teamed up with Barack Obama's Higher Ground Productions and Peyton Manning's Omaha Productions to produce the series. Currently, no release date has been revealed but filming has already begun.
NBA Fans React
Whether you love or hate the players involved, you have to admit it's an interesting concept. So many fans today are dying to know more about their favorite players, and this sort of documentary-style series is the perfect way for people to see a different side of these guys. On social media, fans were pretty happy with the idea and many expressed excitement over the projects to come.
It remains to be seen what kind of content the show will provide, but it's sure to give us all a good show and people are eager to start watching.
Of course, some fans would have rather seen a different cast of characters in the series, and perhaps more veterans over young, unproven stars.
Out of all the players, Domantas Sabonis' inclusion seems to have stirred up the most controversy, as users questioned why he was given an episode over guys like Kevin Durant, Stephen Curry, or Luka Doncic.
People are always going to have their preferences when it comes to things like this but Netflix has already laid out their plan and it's a pretty solid group, all things considered. If it's a success, we could see this sort of thing become normal going forward and we may get to watch all of the players we didn't see this time around.
Documentaries On The Rise
The Netflix series comes as a surprise to most people, but it's not totally unexpected given the growing popularity of sports documentaries in recent years. In 2020, 'The Last Dance' took the internet by storm during the height of the pandemic by sharing the untold stories of Michael Jordan's final season with the Bulls. That series went viral all across the basketball world and provided the blueprint of success for any documentary that came after.
More recently, there's also the 'Winning Time' documentary series that revolved around Magic Johnson and the Showtime Lakers. Between these shows, the NBA audience has really acquired a taste for these kinds of shows and Netflix is more than happy to oblige. No doubt, this series will give us some really great content and it could set the stage for similar projects in the years to come.
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