LeBron-produced doc 'Shut Up and Dribble' tells 'alternate history' of NBA

"Shut Up and Dribble," the three-part documentary series produced by LeBron James, initially focused on the impact that the 1984, 1996, and 2003 draft classes had on and off the court. But according to James' business partner, Maverick Carter, they soon realized there was a bigger story to tell

"It evolved because as we started making this, we realized these eras and these players had a much greater effect outside of basketball," Carter told Jeff Zillgitt of USA TODAY. "It was more about culture. That was the story we had to tell, that basketball was truly America's sport."

While the series takes its name from comments made by Fox News host Laura Ingraham in February, director Gotham Chopra said he and James started working on it long before then. Among the players featured in the series are Oscar Robertson, Allen Iverson, and Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf, who chose not to stand during the national anthem in 1996, saying it conflicted with his Muslim faith.

"I look at the series as the alternate history of the NBA," Chopra said. "In watching this, it's not 'who are the best players and teams?' We don't really talk about Kobe Bryant. We don't really talk about of the San Antonio Spurs. We talk about guys like Craig Hodges. We talk about Mamoud Abdul-Rauf, who was the original (Colin) Kaepernick. We talk about Allen Iverson. What's really important here?"

"Shut Up and Dribble" premieres Saturday at 9 p.m. ET on Showtime.