Streaming these basketball documentaries a slam dunk
Writer/director/producer Adam McKay can’t stop, won’t stop.
On the heels of his apocalyptic satire “Don’t Look Up” and the third season of financial family dramedy “Succession,” on which he serves as an executive producer, McKay’s series “Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty” recently premiered on HBO. Created by Max Borenstein and Jim Hecht, McKay is an executive producer on the series and directed the pilot episode.
“Winning Time” is based on Jeff Pearlman’s book, “Showtime: Magic, Kareem, Riley, and the Los Angeles Lakers Dynasty of the 1980s,” focusing on the high-stakes wheeling and dealing in the late ’70s to build the Lakers into a dominant NBA team. Its snappy, sarcastic, selfaware tone and structure is classic McKay, and the series strives for something between fictionalized account, documentary recreation and oral storytelling.
Some of those quirks may turn viewers off, but there’s no denying the intrigue in this story of sports superstars whose legacies linger to this day. The series may inspire a hankering for more basketball content, especially of the “truth is stranger than fiction” variety.
The natural next step would be a watch (or rewatch) of the electrifying 2020 ESPN series “The Last Dance,” following the Chicago Bulls’ 1997-1998 season, as they go for their sixth NBA title in eight seasons. The documentary also follows superstar Michael Jordan’s career and gives an intimate behindthe-scenes look at high-stakes basketball, and all the personalities and feuds that simmered off and on the court. Catch “The Last Dance” on Netflix.
No list of basketball movies would be complete without mentioning Steve James’ 1994 film “Hoop Dreams,” often considered one of the best documentaries of all time. Shot over the course of five years, James followed two promising high school players from Chicago as they travel to play at an elite high school with the best basketball program. “Hoop Dreams” is streaming on HBO Max, Showtime and Criterion Channel and is available to rent on other platforms.
For a basketball film that has some added resonance check out the 2012 documentary, “The Other Dream Team,” about the miraculous 1992 Lithuanian Olympic basketball team, sponsored by The Grateful Dead. Having just achieved their independence in 1990, Lithuanian athletes could finally compete for their country, rather than for their occupier, the Soviet Union. At the 1992 Olympics, the Lithuanian team weren’t as flashy as the NBA stars on the USA’s Dream Team, but as scrappy underdogs with something to prove, they stole the spotlight in their distinctive tie-dye. Check
out the film on Spectrum On Demand, or rent it for $4.99 on Amazon or YouTube.
Finally, while Jordan held the “Greatest of All Time” title
for a long time, a young upstart from Ohio by the name of LeBron James has now capably taken up the challenge. Check out his high school basketball beginnings in the 2008 documentary “More than a Game,” streaming on Tubi and Pluto and available for rent on all digital platforms.