Award-winning director Sam Pollard (MLK/FBI, Citizen Ashe) helmed the doc about the life and legacy of NBA legend Bill Russell for Netflix.
From High Five Productions the doc chronicles the life of 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—notching two California State High School Championships, two back-to-back NCAA titles with the San Francisco Dons, a Gold Medal at the 1956 Melbourne Olympic Games, and 11 championship titles in his 13-year career as a Boston Celtic (his last two as the first Black Head Coach in NBA history, while still playing for the Celtics). Russell’s story is innately and uniquely intertwined with the 75-year history of the NBA, and the story of America’s last eight decades.
Pollard’s doc features exclusive interviews with Russell as well as access to his sprawling personal archives. Mike Richardson (Hellboy, The Umbrella Academy) and Larry Gordon (Field of Dreams, Die Hard) produced alongside Ross Greenburg (Magic & Bird: A Courtship of Rivals, Miracle).