NBA Players That Had Their Own Movie

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Stars in the NBA are showered with ridiculous contracts, insane endorsements, but there's not too many that could say they've had their own movie, except for these guys. With Kevin Durant becoming a household name amongst basketball fans by the time he was with the Oklahoma City Thunder in 2008, it'd be right around that time that the young and up-and-coming superstar began receiving offers from film cameos and eventually leading a role. Starting out, Durant began his career in film with the short two-minute Nike short that promoted the limited-time auction of the 2011 Nike Mag Shoes, entitled Back to the Future. The short included Hollywood heavy hitters like Bill Hader and Back to the Future star Christopher Lloyd. With the short being only two minutes, Durant's lines were pretty limited. However, the ad would mark the beginning of Durant's career in the industry. Durant's breakout role would come a year later in 2012 with the release of the film Thunderstruck. Durant plays himself in the movie, while the film also covers the life of a high school scrub. Through magic, the two were able to switch playing abilities, which transforms the high school cluts into the high school's greatest player. The switch leaves Durant with little skills he struggles to play in the league. With a budget of $7 million, the movie was only able to pull in just north of 500,000 at the box office, effectively making the movie a complete bust. The movie pulled in respectable reviews, considering Durant is not an actor by trade. Durant talked about his first movie saying, It's different. It's not like my domain, but I made it work. I had a lot of fun on set, stepped outside of the box on this one, but I enjoyed myself and made the most of it. As the league's undisputed greatest player, Lebron has proven himself to be a valuable marketing tool. So much so since the beginning of his career, he's been approached to play in various movie cameo roles in mainstream movies, from Trainwreck to the unannounced Space Jam 2 that's set to release in 2021 The vast majority of movies Lebron has been in, involved in playing himself in various cameo roles, with his most known being Trainwreck, featuring Amy Schumer and Bill Hader. The movie surrounds the life of Amy, whose father has continuously shot down the idea of the realism of a monogamous relationship. Her father's techniques have led Amy to pursue a life of lust that has never led to her settling down with a man, till she meets Bill Hader's character, who caused her to rethink her ways. Lebron actually plays a pretty big role in the movie, as he's the best friend of Bill Hader's character, who is a doctor in sports medicine. Funny enough, Amy Schumer only selected Lebron because he'd been the only basketball star she ever heard of. Hader is then tasked with the job of pitching the movie to Lebron, who he'd worked with on Saturday Night Live. Both the director and Hader had gone to one of Lebron's games and invited them to lunch afterwards to pitch the movie. Hader talked about Lebron in the movie saying, he thought it was really funny. He thought it was great. The last week of shooting was all the Lebron stuff. We were just kind of convinced this isn't going to work out. We were shooting the movie for months, just going, Lebron's never. Something's going to happen and he can't do it. Which would make total sense. As Lebron's first feature film, Lebron was asked in an interview on Today what it was like, and he said, It was like everything I expected it to be and more. Everything I've always dreamed of. You know, as a kid, you hope someday you could possibly be in a movie. Being yourself to start off with, it's been pretty fun so far. With a budget of $35 million, the movie had been a success when it was able to net over $100 million in ticket sales. As one of the league's leading giants, movie studios felt that Wilt Chamberlain's height had more applications than just the basketball court. Starring in the feature film Conan the Destroyer, the film marked Wilt's first and only on-screen performance. The movie follows Conan's second adventure with his friend Mallet, who are tasked with the mission of escorting a queen, princess, and her bodyguard to a mystical island fortress. Along the ride, Conan is tasked with finding a magical horn, which helps him get in contact with God of Dreams. Starring Arnold Schwarzenegger as Conan, Wilt plays as a tall, protective bodyguard for a princess who becomes the villain, when it's revealed that he has secret orders to kill Conan when their quest is over. Arnold talked about meeting Wilt in 1968 and eventually making a movie with him, saying, I was working out on the original Muscle Beach in Santa Monica, and there was Wilt Chamberlain playing volleyball. He was a fantastic volleyball player. Well, that's also where he'd go to pick up girls. He's a funny guy, and we had a great relationship. I'd go and watch him play when he was on the Lakers, and we'd work out together at Gold's Gym. He was the only basketball player in those days I saw working out with weights. He did tricep extensions with 180 pounds, which blew us all away. He was so strong. Our relationship extended into making Conan the Destroyer. We worked out on set every day. And once considered likely one of the greatest performances from an NBA player, Ray Allen takes the cake in his role as Jesus Shuttleworth in the film He Got Game. The movie had been released just two years after Allen was drafted in 1996 It was directed by arguably one of the biggest NBA fans of all time, Spike Lee. The film stars Denzel Washington, who plays Jake Shuttleworth, father of Allen's Jesus Shuttleworth character. Jake ends up serving six years behind bars for accidentally killing his wife in a domestic abuse situation gone terribly wrong. With his father behind bars, Jesus is left to fend for himself as he becomes a basketball star. One day, Jake is offered to go on a week of parole if he convinces his son to attend the governor's alma mater. If he succeeds, he'll also be given a shorter sentence. Spike and Matt Allen from the Bucks had been playing a few away games against the New York Knicks in 1996 Allen, who had been in his rookie season at the time, caught the eye of Spike after his performance. When the game was over, Spike approached Allen to ask him to audition for a new movie he'd been working on. Allen kept it in mind but didn't call Spike until later that season, but the Bucks had failed to make it to the playoffs. Having never acted a day in his life, Allen apparently killed it during his audition, which made the choice to make it in the movie's main character an easy one. Allen talked about receiving the part saying, I remember Spike calling me and telling me that the part's mine if I'm willing to commit. He told me about the process and I said, hey, I could do it. How do you say no? It's just something you don't say no to. Competing for the role had also been NBA stars Tracy McGrady alongside Allen Iverson, all who were eventually beaten out. And despite the filmmaking only 21 of the 25 million needed to break even, the project received a mostly positive response by critics and has an 81% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Easily one of the most recognizable sports movies of all time. Also a happy to star, one of the most recognizable basketball players of all time, Michael Jordan. Space Jam is a family Looney Tunes reboot that revolves around basketball for its characters. The movie's premise involves an evil alien amusement park owner who is in need of a new attraction and a site. Using his gang called the Nerdlucks, the aliens travel to Earth to kidnap the Looney Tunes characters to keep them prisoner. After taking the Looney Tunes, Bugs Bunny requests a chance at freedom if he beats the gang at a game of basketball. The Nerdlucks agree, but end up stealing the powers of NBA greats Charles Barkley and Larry Byrd. In a desperate effort to be able to compete, the Looney Tunes characters seek out the help of Michael Jordan to help them improve their game. The script of the movie sounded so ludicrous to many big name actors that the studio actually had a tough time bringing in talent. The director talked about having Jordan on, saying, He did what Michael does. We tried to recast him, but we couldn't find anyone better. He did as well as he could do. He played himself. And remember, a lot of the film is based on his life, so there were realistic references in there. He was very professional, he showed up, he knew his lines, he made it as easy as possible. The movie was a box office surprise to many. Somehow the ridiculous plot resonated with the audience. With an 80 million dollar budget, the film was able to rake in over 230 million dollars worldwide. In a rare interview, Jordan was asked about filming the movie, and he responded saying, I think the characters are very entertaining. I was able to play with them a little bit, and some of the other actors, Charles, Patrick, Bill Murray, Wayne Knight, those guys did a great job. It's different. I don't know if I want to do this as a livelihood, but at least I got the chance to experience it once. Despite failing to really make a name for himself during his 13 season career in the NBA, Rick Fox was able to make a name for himself in Hollywood. Having been involved in 70 projects, Fox is easily the most experienced Hollywood actor of all NBA players that made the jump from the court to the big screen. Fox talked about ending his career in the NBA to revisit acting, saying, I had an injury the end of my career. Fortunately, I think by the middle of my basketball career, I figured out what I wanted to do when I was done playing. Retiring at the age of 35 leaves a lot of life and a lot of time to figure out what you're going to do for a second career. And it was just stepping out of that fear of beginning again, making a marathon run of an acting career as opposed to a sprint. His career in film began alongside Shaxx in the film Blue Chips in 1994 However, he's since grown from his supporting role in Blue Chips to elite actor in his most notable movie Meet the Browns. The movie follows a single mother who after being recently laid off also is informed of the death of her father, who she never met. When attending the funeral with her kids in Georgia, the woman begins to fall in love with her father's side of the family in a small town in Georgia. As she gets to know the family she never knew, she's also acquainted with Fox's character, who she begins to fall in love with. Fox talked about being a part of the movie saying, For me, it was a blessing to be a part of. Felt like being drafted to a franchise or an organization, where I'd be supported as an aspiring young actor. Written and directed by Tyler Perry, the movie received mixed reviews by critics, but ultimately, it was a box office success. It made $41 million compared to his $20 million budget. As a renowned athlete, investor, businessman, TV show personality, and rapper, it's no wonder Shaq's desire to take on a new challenge like acting came about. Shaq's acting career likely started off because of his larger-than-life personality, which in the NBA made him extremely marketable. The transition from being funny big man on the court to a funny big man on the big screen seemed like an easy enough leap, and it was. Starting his acting career just two years after his entry into the NBA, Shaq was selected to play in his first major movie, named Blue Chips. The film surrounds a head coach of a team that must approve his team's record or risk the chance of getting fired. And with his eyes set on Shaq's character, the head coach plans to sign him over to his school by any means necessary, even if it includes illegally paying the players. Shaq talked about finding out about the movie, saying, I was at the Four Seasons in Los Angeles. Billy Fredkin was there. I walked in and everybody started going crazy. Billy was like, I've been looking for you, looking for me. He said, I'm Billy Fredkin. I was like, oh, you directed The Exorcist. That's me and my mom's favorite movie. He said, I'm shooting a movie about basketball players and I want you to be in it. Now, of course, while this was Shaq's first movie, it's not as most famous. Two years later, and the Shaq cult classic Kazam came out. The kids movie musical had a budget of about $20 million, but failed to break even after topping out at $18 million in the box office. With the movie being considered by critics as a complete and utter slap in the face of all that is good with kids movies. Still, many fans seem to enjoy it for the fact that Shaq's in it. Shaq plays a 5,000 year old rapping genie who is awoken when a wrecking ball hits an abandoned building that knocks over a magical lamp. Contents of the lamp end up getting absorbed into a boombox, which is how Kazam is assumed to have gotten his rap talent. After being discovered by 12 year old Max, Kazam seeks to help Max out as he tackles problems from neighborhood bullies to his relationship with his father. Shaq talked about the movie's success or lack thereof in an interview with Business Insider saying, If you watch Kazam as an adult, you should be ashamed of yourself. The movie is for children. Because it was me, the Shaqster, you get all these guys trying to critique the movie, you know. It was just me taking advantage of an opportunity, doing something for kids. I'm not trying to win Oscars and Emmys and Tonys, you know. Think about it. A kid from the projects in New York, New Jersey gets to do a major motion picture. I'm going to take it every time, no matter what the script is. Starting out originally as a hilarious commercial for Pepsi, Kyrie got to start in film in the Pepsi string commercials called Uncle Drew. The anti-ages commercials also featured Bill Russell as Uncle Drew's old man friend. Irving would end up being a part of a three string commercial series for Pepsi until the idea was adopted into a feature length movie in 2018 The movie, also entitled Uncle Drew, is about Dax, who would just spend his life savings to enter a team into the Rucker Classic Streetball Tournament. After going through a series of setbacks, it also involves his team losing to a longtime rival. In an effort to win the tournament's cash prize, Dax stumbles upon Uncle Drew, played by Irving, who in his heyday was a legend. Dax manages Drew to come join him on the court for old time's sake, needing the rest of a basketball team to embark on a road trip to round up Drew's old friends and basketball stars to help Dax complete the tournament. Irving talked about the evolution of the series from commercial to feature film when he said, I am a little surprised in terms of the respect and reception it's garnered. Seeing the evolution of it start as kind of a Pepsi short and then elevate to a feature film with a writer and director, I was like, it was such a surprise, but I had so much fun doing it that when the opportunity presented itself, I just really wanted to kill it. It was incredible to take a character that existed in just the digital world into a feature film and now exist as a narrative that hopefully exists long after my lifetime. That was the hope going into this, was having an incredible organic cast to be put together, come together in terms of figuring out life lessons through being Uncle Drew, which was inevitably a part of me. The film didn't disappoint. The budget of $19 million, the film grossed $42 million in nationwide sales, $46 million in worldwide sales. Hey, yo dog, I need you to do me a massive favor right now, bro. Click on this video on the screen. This video is over, man. It's completely done, but this video on the screen, bro, has literally not even begun yet. We're like a time traveler right now. I'm like Kazam popping out of my lamp to tell you the future of how great this next video. Just click on it, okay?