LeBron James has a new film coming to Netflix in the fall.
The Los Angeles Lakers star served as a producer on "Rez Ball," a coming-of-age drama that follows the Chuska Warriors, a Native American high school basketball team from New Mexico, as they compete for a state championship following the loss of their star player. It's inspired by the 2019 novel "Canyon Dreams: A Basketball Season on the Navajo Nation" by Michael Powell.
Director Sydney Freeland told Netflix that she drew from her own experience of playing basketball growing up for the film.
"You have these small arenas, but they're just packed with people," Freeland explained. "Where we were, we don't have professional teams. We don't have college teams. A lot of that falls on high school; where a lot of these native teams have had the most success is the high school level. So you get this huge turnout and this rabid fan base. So for us, it was like, 'Oh, this is West Texas high school football. This is Friday Night Lights, but it is from an Indigenous perspective.'"
"Rez Ball" will premier during the Toronto International Film Festival, which runs from Sept. 5-15, before coming to Netflix on Sept. 27.
James' previous film production credits include "Space Jam: A New Legacy," "Hustle," and "Black Ice."
