Showtime Sports continues its expansion of unscripted, timely and compelling sports programming with a documentary film featuring projected No. 1 NBA Draft pick Ben Simmons. The network is collaborating with MAGGIEVISION Productions on the Simmons story and his journey to the NBA titled “One & Done.” The feature length film will premiere in October just prior to the start of Simmons’ rookie NBA season. The announcement was made yesterday by Executive Vice President & General Manager of Showtime Sports Stephen Espinoza.
“One & Done” examines the sprawling journey of Simmons from his Australian upbringing, to high school and college in America, to the top of the rookie class in the world’s foremost basketball league. Simmons endeavors to fulfill a lifelong dream, one shared by his family, including father David Simmons, a New York City native who played 13 professional seasons in the Australian National Basketball League.
The production, led by executive producers Maura Mandt, Dave Chamberlin and Josh Swade, has been underway for two years with exclusive, intimate access to the highly touted, 19-year-old power forward from Melbourne. At the heart of the film is Simmons’ time on the NCAA men’s basketball team at Louisiana State University where he played his “one and done” year in order to satisfy a rule regulating eligibility for the NBA Draft. Production continues this week, as Simmons, his fellow NBA prospects and the basketball industry descend on Brooklyn, N.Y. for the 2016 NBA Draft.
The NBA’s one and done rule is not without controversy. Initiated in 2006, the rule requires that elite high school players who are ostensibly ready for the NBA, must be one year removed from graduation in order to be eligible for the Draft. Since inception, it has sparked passionate debate on both sides. This debate will be explored in the film.
“‘One & Done’ chronicles a unique and pivotal period in a young man’s life,” said Espinoza. “Over the last year, as Ben Simmons has transitioned from teenager to young adult, he has also transitioned from the relative anonymity of a supremely talented high school player to the national and international limelight of the exclusive fraternity of top NBA draft picks. Ben Simmons is navigating a path that, although dreamt of and aspired to for a lifetime, remains uncertain. ‘One & Done’ is dramatic and captivating with exclusive access to subject matter that is as timely as it is provocative.”
“It’s been an honor to have the opportunity to follow Ben for the past two years,” said Mandt. “The openness of Ben and his family during this remarkable transition in his life is truly unprecedented. Anyone can relate to a young person who has spent their life working toward a dream that is within their sights, while at the same time, not knowing what obstacles may lay ahead.”
“One & Done” will be co-directed by Mandt and Swade, collaborators from the 30 For 30 documentary “There’s No Place Like Home,” among other projects.
“One & Done” is part of an expansive new lineup of unscripted documentary films from Showtime Sports. Additional titles in the lineup include “The Drew” (Baron Davis), “Iverson” “Kobe Bryant’s Muse,” “Play It Forward” (Tony Gonzalez), and “Dean Smith.”
