Nickelodeon has set an airdate for ‘Little Ballers’ and it’s quickly approaching! This feature-length documentary featuring interviews with top NBA all-stars, Executive Produced by Amar’e Stoudemire, endorsed by Kobe Bryant and Lupe Fiasco, and featuring a number of NBA all-stars including Tyson Chandler, Steve Nash, Russell Westbrook, JR Smith, Joakim Noah, and Carmelo Anthony will air during NickToons’ new NickSports block on Wednesday, November 26th at 9:30pm EST. The Hollywood Reporter broke the news Monday, October 6, 2014.
NBA star Amar’e Stoudemire played a significant role as Executive Producer of Little Ballers by lending his expertise from the perspective of an NBA star who actually participated in AAU during his formative years. Amar’e’s similar journey as kid was what drew him to the project. “I wanted to Executive Produce Little Ballers because I once was a little baller. It made a major impact on my life, helped me to become a better man and a better leader. Youth sports are very important for children, there are so many lessons to learn that impact their lives forever. Sports help build character, discipline and teamwork which are all important aspects for the future”.
Little Ballers is a powerful exploration of the journey of a youth basketball team on their way to winning an AAU National Championship. The 81-minute documentary is set against the backdrop of New York City, shining a spotlight on the Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) as a feeding ground to potential NBA stardom and a means of escape from inner-city adversity. The film captivates an emerging trend in children’s television content: the power of youth sports in pop culture. For the four 11-year-old boys followed in the film, basketball is more than a game; it offers them hope in the form of a bond with father figures, a means to stay off the gang-infested streets, a path towards better education, and the possibility of reaching the American Dream. This feature length documentary explores the transformative effects of sports on urban youth in today’s society as shown through the eyes of young men in their last age of innocence, while drawing upon the parallel experiences of now-famous NBA players who once walked in their shoes.