Different players across the NBA have something in common: they once played basketball with the AAU, aka the Amateur Athletic Union, a non-profit organization that provides sporting activities for kids across the country. One film sheds light on the dreams, challenges, wins and losses of youth in the program.
“Little Ballers,” a 2013 documentary that premieres Wednesday on Nickelodeon, focuses on the New York-based AAU basketball team New Heights as they fight their way to the national championship. Four boys in particular, Judah, Tyriek, Cole and Kevin, pepper in their opinions on basketball and life in general, noting their personal goals of making it to the NBA.
At 11 years old, these boys evoke the raw emotion of childhood innocence, which is counterbalanced by the adults of the movie — including their Coach Billy, current and former NBA players like Carmelo Anthony and Walt Frazier, and cultural pundits such as Travis King and Roland Martin — who stress the idea that dreams also have a layer of reality to them.
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“I also found inspiration in the bond that they developed as brothers,” she noted. “For these young men, race, class and culture really meant nothing, but what did mean something was the brotherhood they developed playing together as teammates and getting to know each other off the court.”
“Little Ballers” premieres on Nickelodeon on Feb. 25 at 9 p.m. EST. Check your local listings.
