LeBron James Is Having Trouble Recruiting New Players For An Entirely Different Basketball Project
To say that things have been rather rough for the Los Angeles Lakers would be an understatement. For the second half of the 2018-19 NBA season, the west coast team has found itself in a slump. As previously reported by The Inquisitr, rumors allege that the Lakers are “not aligned on any level,” and it looks like the team will be targeting some new players in the offseason.
LeBron James has also been hunting down and trying to recruit some players of his own, though his efforts have little to do with the NBA. It turns out, James has been struggling to bring aboard his fellow athletes for an upcoming movie project.
As reported by CBS Sports, LeBron has been having trouble recruiting other NBA players to star alongside him in the upcoming sequel to Space Jam. For the uninitiated, Space Jam was a live-action/animated hybrid comedy, which originally released back in 1996. The film, which starred Michael Jordan as himself, depicted an alternate take on what MJ’s life between his retirement from the NBA in 1993, and his eventual comeback in 1995.
In the movie, Jordan is recruited by Bugs Bunny and other Looney Tunes characters to participate in an intergalactic basketball exhibition match against a malicious group of aliens. While it received mix reviews from film critics, Space Jam went on to gross over $230 million worldwide and has since become a cult classic.
Speaking to sports journalist and ESPN host Rachel Nichols, Brian Windhorst — also an ESPN journalist — revealed that LeBron has been trying to convince “top guys” to star in Space Jam 2. Unfortunately, it seems James has run into a bit of a roadblock.
“In all honesty, he’s been recruiting players to come and try to be in ‘Space Jam’ with him this summer,” Windhorst explained, “and he hasn’t been able to close some of those deals. Some of the top guys he wants to come and be with him in the movie… [are saying], ‘You put me in the movie where you’re the star, I’m gonna be the one you’re dunking on.'”
Apparently LeBron is struggling to recruit players to be in Space Jam 2… ?
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— Yahoo Sports (@YahooSports) April 5, 2019
As noted by CBS Sports, a few of LeBron’s close friends and fellow NBA players, including Chris Paul, Carmelo Anthony, and Dwyane Wade, are all rumored to be potential co-stars in the upcoming sequel. While LeBron is the only NBA player who is currently attached to the project, the film has already found its principal cast and crew.
As detailed on the movie’s IMDb page, Space Jam 2 will star O’Shea Jackson Jr., Lil Pump (as himself), Sonequa Martin-Green, and, of course, LeBron James. Terence Nance is set to direct, with Ryan Coogler (Black Panther) producing.
Space Jam 2 will hit theaters on July 16, 2021.
