LeBron James Named Executive Producer for Showtime Documentary on NBA, Culture

LeBron James is expanding his multimedia empire. The Cleveland Cavaliers star announced Wednesday he will partner with Showtime for a three-part documentary the NBA's impact on popular culture.

Filmmaker Gotham Chopra will serve as the project's director, per Tom Withers of The Associated Press. James and longtime business partner Maverick Carter will co-executive produce.   

“We developed the idea for these films because of the incredible, generational impact some of the NBA’s most successful players have had on every aspect of American culture,” said Carter, CEO of SpringHill Entertainment. “Gotham is the perfect filmmaker to bring these stories to life, and Showtime is the right platform to showcase how they were able to transcend the game and shape the culture in an unprecedented way.”

Chopra previously worked with Kobe Bryant on his documentary Muse and Tom Brady on the television show Religion of Sports. 

“Despite the fact that I am a Boston Celtics fan to the bone, collaborating with Maverick and LeBron was an inspired opportunity,” Chopra said. “Sports in general and specifically the NBA provide a great backdrop for storytelling. But these films offer us a chance to go beyond that; to weave a broader cultural narrative in our current social climate.”

The film will premiere in 2018. James is also slated to begin work on a sequel to Space Jam at some point in the near future, but no formal date for filming has been set for the oft-rumored project.