Basketball and Other Things

An array of interviews from and about big-named stars, cleverly spliced with animated clips illustrating the incredible tales, makes this series compulsively watchable for older teens and adults alike. Through topical and timely episodes on subjects like how to level up, the price of success, and what happens when the hype turns bad, Basketball and Other Things addresses all that a viewer would expect and then some. The first-hand accounts give refreshingly honest takes on an array of subjects including determination, depression, anxiety, fear of failure, racial inequity, and the survivor's guilt that often comes along with emerging from poverty. The show's subjects also don't shy away from lessons that can only come from defeat; several of whom went on to phenomenal success in other fields after failing to make it in the NBA. A fair warning, though, don't mistake this for a glossy inspirational series. The attempt here is to paint a true, if not always pretty, picture of the NBA life. Tales of consumerism, womanizing, drug use, and binge drinking are sometimes conveyed in a humorous light, especially in episode 7, "The Good Life". This isn't a series to suggest your teens consume on their own. Sitting down and watching together, though, you just might stumble on some compelling conversations while being treated to a whole host of memorable stories about some of history's biggest basketball stars.