SHOWTIME Announces New Documentary Series, SHUT UP AND DRIBBLE, Executive Produced by LeBron James

SHOWTIME has announced a timely new three-part documentary series SHUT UP AND DRIBBLE, a powerful inside look at the changing role of athletes in our fraught cultural and political environment, through the lens of the NBA. Executive produced by LeBron James and Maverick Carter, the series will premiere this October on SHOWTIME. The announcement was made today at the Television Critics Association's summer press tour by David Nevins, President and CEO of Showtime Networks Inc.

Directed by Gotham Chopra (Tom vs. Time, Kobe Bryant's Muse), SHUT UP AND DRIBBLE takes its title from conservative pundit Laura Ingraham's remarks to James in February after players from the Golden State Warriors declined an invitation to the White House after the 2018 NBA Finals. The controversy serves as a prologue to the series as it chronicles the modern history of the NBA and its players, starting with the 1976 merger of the freewheeling ABA and the more conventional NBA of today. The league soon became an incubator for many of its top athletes to grow their brands BEYOND the court, becoming powerful players in commerce and fashion, and transcending the game to become cultural icons. SHUT UP AND DRIBBLE charts this evolution through the experience of basketball players, who by taking control of their own destinies have helped to bring about social change and make their own statements in the current political climate.

"If being a star athlete is inherently a political experience, SHUT UP AND DRIBBLE tells that complex and dramatic story from the past to the present and from the inside out," said Nevins. "LeBron James is one of many competitors whose place in the spotlight has led not to silence but perspective, and he, Maverick Carter and Gotham Chopra have given us an important, insightful docuseries that should bring their fans and fellow citizens to a higher level of discourse, rather than the dismissal satirized in the title."

SHUT UP AND DRIBBLE is a presentation of Showtime Sports Documentary Films and SpringHill Entertainment. The series is executive produced by LeBron James, Maverick Carter, Rich Paul, Gotham Chopra, Martin Desmond Roe, Chris Uetwiller and Datari Turner.