Adam Sandler will continue his run of movies involving basketball stars with his upcoming Netflix project Hustle, which will be produced by LeBron James and SpringHill Entertainment as well as Sandler’s Happy Madison, per Collider’s Jeff Sneider.
The story follows an American basketball scout (Sandler) who is unjustly fired after discovering a once-in-a-lifetime player abroad. The scout decides to bring the player to America to prove that they both have what it takes to make it in the NBA.
The initial script reportedly specified the player was a “Chinese streetball phenom” but now simply says a “player abroad,” which Sneider notes may have to do with the ongoing rift between the NBA and China. Whatever they end up doing, it’ll be interesting to see how all of this comes together. Sandler has seen a career renaissance of sorts lately with a Netflix standup special as well as his critically acclaimed performance in Uncut Gems opposite Kevin Garnett.
Sandler’s love of basketball is well-known, as he plays regularly and frequents games both in New York and L.A. His love of basketball and LeBron having his hands in the production figures to be a great match for a movie about basketball and a more realistic portrayal of the process of trying to make it to the NBA.
