Kevin Durant has back-to-back NBA championship rings and 11 all-star game appearances. Now, the Brooklyn Nets forward also has his name on an Apple TV+ series, “Swagger,” set in the world of youth basketball and inspired by his own experiences.
Durant was involved “every step of the way,” said star Isaiah Hill, who plays young phenom Jace Crawford in the series, which premiered last week.
“I mean, this is Kevin! Kevin Durant! The guy is so tall and agile, can play the game and he just strives for perfection,” the 19-year-old newcomer, who played basketball at Union Catholic High School in Scotch Plains, New Jersey, told the Daily News.
“I remember having conversations with him, and he’s very serious about his work and just wants to be perfect, wants to be talked about as the greatest. He stays motivated. That’s something I really wanted to bring to Jace and to the show.”
For Jace, basketball is everything. It’s his hobby, his social life, his future. Not just fans in high school arenas around Washington, D.C., but strangers on the internet who love and hate him for every basket made. The challenge, Hill said, is to drown out the “outside noise.”
“It’s about knowing what’s worth your time, knowing that some random dude in the comments who you’ve never met before, never bought you a birthday present, don’t love you, don’t hate you, is just talking smack,” O’Shea Jackson Jr., who plays Coach Ike, told The News.
When Jace switches to Ike’s team, later renamed Swagger, his world changes. Some is because of Ike, a coach who finally understands him and cares about more than Xs and Os. Some is because of the outside noise, like the COVID-19 pandemic and Black Lives Matter protests. Even his relationships begin shifting, including with his best friend Crystal (Quvenzhane Wallis).
“Our goal was to not only create a narrative that would allow people to laugh and cheer the whole time,” showrunner Reggie Rock Bythewood told The News. “Our mission was to challenge perspectives. Our mission was to get the audience to think about how we treat kids in our world.”
Then, the money comes in.
At the same time that the NCAA has relinquished its stranglehold on college athletes’ ability to make money off their skills, “Swagger” follows the money all the way down to 14-year-old kids who become famous not on the SEC Network but on Instagram and TikTok. In this case, it’s a shoe company that sees an opportunity to rise to fame along with the players, getting to them before Nike even notices.
“Situations where kids are seen as pawns or dollar signs to grown-a— people,” said Jackson, the son of Ice Cube.
Tristan Mack Wilds, who plays shoe sales rep Alonzo Powers, based his character on Sonny Vaccaro, the sports marketing executive who got Michael Jordan his first shoe deal. The New York native acknowledges that the line between shady and successful in this line of work is blurred, but he insists that Alonzo wants to stay on the right side.
Wallias raved about Crystal’s strength. Hill talked about building a foundation. “Swagger” realizes the ridiculousness of it all, of forcing kids to make decisions that will follow them forever, of having to choose between an endorsement and taking a stand.
“These are kids, man. You think back and you think, the oldest that these kids are going through this is what, 17 years old? That’s before you graduate high school, before you get a prom date, before you even know what a college dorm room smells like, before you even leave the house,” Wilds told The News.
“There’s so many other pressures that these kids have to deal with that shape them as men and women, and then you’re adding on fame and money that could change your entire family’s life.”
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