Exit Huddle: More Than A Game
A roundtable discussion on the documentary covering LeBron James’ come-up
The Turnover Staff grabbed some popcorn and had a movie night! We watched More Than A Game, a documentary by Kristopher Belman following LeBron James and the Fab 5 and their meteoric high school rise. Then we broke it all down…
Initial impressions?
Kenny: Surprisingly in-depth in the ways that it explores LeBron’s teammates, their upbringings, and the complicated father-son relationship between Dru Joyce and Dru Joyce Jr. It may not be able to cover every topic in-depth: the city of Akron, the racial politics of St. Vincent-St. Mary, or even LeBron’s decision to jump to the NBA, but it manages to respectively cover the stories of five individuals under two hours. The archival footage of young LeBron and company certainly helps.
Disappointingly shallow on the basketball side of things. It’s an understandable decision to move away from the x’s and o’s and hone in on the off-the-court narratives, but I was left with a lot of questions of what actually went down during the games. What actually happened in the game against Oak Hill and Melo, and did LeBron play against other future NBA stars during his youth? How in the world does high school basketball work, and was the DII championship really that big of a deal? Was Sian Cotton actually useful on the court considering the only footage of him playing in the film was bricking a shot off the rim?
Alex: Once again, LeBron is forced to carry the team. The premise was ripe for the picking, LeBron (and Akron) comes with a built-in against-the-odds narrative. I’m not asking for director Kristopher Belman to pick at some manipulative emotional thread, but More Than a Game comes across so distant and clinical that it’s a disservice to the heart and passion that every person featured in the documentary showed.
Eric: Not the most informative or exciting documentary I’ve seen. The title (More Than a Game) was spot-on and I enjoyed that the doc delved into the Fab Four and it’s origin story/relationships. As LeBron’s gotten older, we can see where his “team brotherhood” mentality began. Let’s not forget that when LeBron came in, he was heralded as a great leader whose play style made his teammates better (unlike Kobe/Jordan mold of leadership). Even in 2009 however, it seemed like the group had drifted apart (understandable) and the doc was telling four different stories, rather than one cohesive story. The most frustrating part was that the story did not feel linear at all. I was constantly confused what year we were in and how there could be 5 state championship games in one season. A little hand-holding on high school basketball would have been nice. On the other hand, it was pretty cool to see early highlights of a young LeBron dominating the court.
Standout scene?
Alex: Coach Dru Joyce and his storyline were by far my favorite. And it all kind of culminated with this scene where Joyce was just showing the camera the different books that he read to understand basketball better (coming from a football background) and to be a good coach — for his son, for his team, and even, for himself. In this simple scene, I think so much of the famous mantra, that it’s more than a game, comes into fruition. If well-worn basketball coaching books is not love, then I don’t know what is.
Kenny: A couple scenes stuck with me, 4’10” Dru Joyce III going 7–7 from three point land in only ten minutes and Ilya McGee describing the sacrifices he made as a twenty-two year old college student in adopting his brother Willie. But I really enjoyed seeing LeBron show us his former childhood room, asking the audience to imagine a wall full of Iverson and Kobe posters. Now vacated and walls painted over, there really isn’t much to see during the tour of LeBron and Gloria James’ former home, but it’s symbolic of his nomadic early family life, and bittersweet considering the small apartment was one of the first places LeBron slept in knowing that he wouldn’t have to move the next week of the month.
Eric: When Dru sank 6–6 3s to win the chip for his team. It made me feel like I could do the exact same thing in my pickup game at the gym the next day. Instead, I clanked all but one of my 3s. FYI, the one I actually hit was a game winner. :^)
Did you learn anything new about LeBron?
Alex: I’m new to basketball — well sports in general — but I still felt the documentary didn’t dig into anything new. With that said, I actually did not know LeBron was the first high school basketball underclassmen to grace the cover of Sports Illustrated. Other high schoolers that made the cover: Kevin Garnett, Sebastian Telfair, and Jabari Parker.
Kenny: I learned more about the relationship between LeBron and Gloria James. It was a good switch-up after the repetition of the paternal and Mark Jackson-like relationship between Coach Dru and the players. Gloria James has mostly existed in my mind as a meme due to those strange Delonte West rumors, so it was nice to hear her talk about raising LeBron on her own. It’s saccharine and a little corny, but NBA moms seem to always be the real MVP.
What else would you have wanted from the documentary?
Alex: LeBron and the others attending St. Vincent-St. Mary High School and the implications of that (especially to the new backdrop of the I Promise School), but I also get that that might draw attention away from the basketball. Then again, the movie is called More Than a Game, and the intersection of class and race with sports is definitely “more”.
Kenny: I would have liked to hear a bit more about Akron, although folks aren’t tuning into a LeBron doc to hear about housing segregation and the Chicago projects (the infamous Robert Taylor homes are shown as Willie McGhee narrates his move from Chicago). Also, apart from a 30 second clip of LeBron being interviewed after the national title game, the film pretty much avoids any talk of college basketball recruitment or the decision-making process in jumping straight to the NBA. We’re constantly told that LeBron is a transcendental player through the crowds that come to see him and the SI cover, but some draft talk might have helped. He was, after all, a high school player that actually lived up to the hype (and exceeded it) — something that the league had not seen in a long time.
There’s LeBron, then there’s everyone else. Who else’s narrative would you have liked the movie to cover more of?
Eric: Romeo Travis. I’m not quite sure why the documentary team brought him into the fold if they weren’t going to expand on any of his relationships with the main players. We get a one-liner from LeBron that they were on speaking terms but that the other members of the Fab Four never got along with Romeo.
Kenny: Corey Jones, the white guy who replaced Willie McGhee in the starting lineup but was never mentioned by name and apparently later became a motivational speaker. In all seriousness though, Romeo Travis’ backstory was probably the least explored and perhaps the most interesting — his ascent from villain to good teammate is abrupt, and he appeared to also be the second best player on the team.
What would your dream LeBron documentary be like?
Alex: Probably just a highlight video of Wade and LeBron making a monster duo. Just this on loop.
Kenny: I would have killed for an in-depth post-“The Decision” documentary chronicling his relationship to his new Miami teammates (Gabrielle Union says Wade only eats fish because of LeBron), dealing with angry idiots burning their jerseys, and culminating in a shocking NBA finals loss against Dirk and the Mavs. I can’t even imagine what that locker room felt like after game six.
Eric: Klutch sports needs to be exposed (and celebrated). The impact they have on free agency and the history of clients who have gotten ridiculous contracts (on the back of LeBron) is incredible. Tristan Thompson — 5yrs/$82mm?? JR Smith — 4yrs/$57mm?? To be fair, these deals came right after the Cavs won the chip. Revisionist history has written off these two as goons but they were key parts of the team. TT out-hustled, outsized, and out-rebounded the smaller Warriors front-court. Even more importantly, he was able to switch out on screens and defend (or “contain”) the Splash Bros. JR Smith and his 3&D play style was also huge that year.
Who had the best verse on “Forever”?
Alex: It’s Drake.
Eric: Last name EVER, first name GREATEST.
