Bill Russell – Picture: Getty Images
NBA legend Bill Russell is coming to Netflix with a documentary film directed by Sam Pollard directing. The film comes from High Five Productions, LLC.
Recently celebrating his 88th birthday, Bill Russell has a long-lasting legacy that was made both on the court where he’s most commonly associated with the Boston Celtics and off the court as a civil rights activist which he continues to be to this day.
Here’s how Netflix has described the documentary:
“The definitive bio-doc on NBA Legend Bill Russell, the greatest champion in the history of American sports, and a true Civil Rights icon. From the humblest of beginnings, Russell went on to lead each and every one of his basketball teams to Championships — two California State High School Championships, two back-to-back NCAA titles, a Gold Medal at the 1956 Melbourne Olympic Games, and 11 championship titles in his thirteen-year career as a Boston Celtic (his last two as the first Black Head Coach in NBA history, while still playing for the Celtics). Bill’s story is innately and uniquely intertwined with the 75-year history of the NBA, and the story of America’s last 8 decades.”
1987: Head coach Bill Russell of the Sacrament Kings (second from left) during a Kings game versus the Golden State Warriors. (Photo by Icon Sportswire)
Sam Pollard is directing the documentary who was described by Spike Lee as a “master filmmaker”. His most recent project came last year with Citizen Ashe releasing on HBO Max in early December 2021.
Pollard’s other credits include MLK/FBI, Mr. Soul!, Black Art: In the Absence of Light, and Maynard.
Director Sam Pollard – Photo by John Lamparski/Getty Images
Larry Gordon (Field of Dreams, Die Hard), Ross Greenburg (Magic & Bird: A Courtship of Rivals, Miracle), Mike Richardson (Hellboy, The Umbrella Academy) are all producing.
The yet-to-be-titled NBA documentary will sit alongside a slew of other basketball documentaries on Netflix. The biggest among the docs already available is the ESPN-Netflix co-production The Last Dance but other notable titles include Last Chance U: Basketball, Tony Parker: The Final Short, and Untold: Malice at the Palace.
Will you be checking out this new Bill Russell documentary when it hits Netflix? Let us know in the comments. We’ll keep you posted on its release date and full title as and when we get it.