Chicago’s rich basketball culture—from high school to professional, Isiah Thomas to Derrick Rose—has been well-documented. It was Jay-Z’s LifeAndTimes.com that took notice this time, creating a documentary featuring several of the city’s rising stars. Those familiar with the city will notice several common streets and gyms. The doc highlights two paths to the top: favored prodigy, and triumphant underdog. Their words:
With Michael Jordan’s dominance throughout the ’90s providing a spark, the basketball culture in Chicago has recently dominated that of other sports in the city, one where the Cubs and Bears also call home. Chicago has also come to rival and in some regards, surpass, other basketball capitals such as N.Y.C. and L.A. in producing local talent the likes of Dwyane Wade and Derrick Rose, the latter of which now leads a young, resurgent Bulls squad. Here, in our first documentary, Life+Times follows a select crop of the city’s youngsters—high school sophomores Tyquone Greer, Jahlil Okafor and Paul White—with the potential to carry on in the city’s rich legacy.
Also featuring famed NBA trainer Tim Grover, Chicago basketball scout Daniel Poneman, and Oak Park product and New York Knicks’ 2011 first-round Draft pick, Iman Shumpert.
