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Washington Post
a day ago
- Entertainment
- Washington Post
Spike Lee on Denzel's brilliance – ‘He's Jordan' – and the sports movie he's dying to make
In the most pivotal scene of 'He Got Game,' the 1998 Spike Lee film starring Denzel Washington and future NBA Hall of Famer Ray Allen, the script called for basketball prodigy Jesus Shuttlesworth to defeat his father, Jake, 11-0, during a one-on-one showdown. Washington, playing the role of Jake but drawing on his own background as a baller, wasn't going to let that happen. 'Denzel said f--- that,' Lee recalled this week with a laugh. 'Forget about it. A zero doughnut?' 'I got an ego like the next man,' Washington said this week in an interview. 'He wasn't beating me like that, no.' Knowing that he was matched up with an acting novice in Allen, Washington, who played junior varsity basketball at Fordham and grew up playing with the likes of future NBA players Gus and Ray Williams in Mount Vernon, New York, set up his movie son by telling Allen that he struggled going left. Then when Lee called action, Washington drove left on Allen and scored. And he scored again. And again. 'I got in some lucky shots,' Washington said. A confused Allen turned to Lee and did what any basketball player masquerading as a movie star would do in that situation. 'Instead of saying, 'Cut,' he's like this,' Lee said, forming his hands like a letter 'T,' ''Timeout! Timeout! Timeout! I'm supposed to win 11-zip.'' Lee shrugged his shoulders, realizing that a better scene was unfolding before his eyes. The tension increased every time Jake got buckets. Jesus eventually shut down Jake, but Washington got a moral victory, and 'He Got Game' was elevated by a master's intuition. 'He's Jordan,' Lee said of Washington. 'Are you going to put the clamps on Jordan? If you have Jordan, you're not going to put the wraps on him. He got the green light. Everybody don't get the green light, but my brother from Money Earnin' Mount Vernon, he gets it.' That kind of trust and respect is what has allowed Washington and Lee to team up for five films together — the most recent of which, 'Highest 2 Lowest,' opens in theaters this weekend for the first collaboration between the two in nearly two decades. The movie centers on music mogul David King, played by Washington, and the moral dilemma he faces when asked to pay a financially crippling ransom to save the life of his best friend's kidnapped son. 'It was a New York story,' said Washington. 'I said, 'This is Spike.' I trust him completely. He'll do his New York thing and I'll do what I do and I ain't got to think about what he's doing and he doesn't have to worry about what I'm doing. I made a good decision. It was like going home.' 'You know that Donny Hathaway and Roberta Flack song, 'Back Together Again'? That's what it is,' Lee said of the reunion. 'He Got Game' remains the only feature in Lee's four-decade filmography that can be classified as a sports movie. But sports iconography is as integral as the pulsating jazz scores to Lee's movies: Bernard King references and Mars Blackmon's obsession with Michael Jordan's sneakers in his breakout film 'She's Gotta Have It' (1986). Mookie wearing a Jackie Robinson jersey and Buggin Out getting upset that a white man in a Larry Bird jersey stepped on his Jordan 4s in 'Do The Right Thing' (1989). Scenes filmed at Yankee Stadium in 'Summer of Sam' (1999). Lee's passion for sports bleeds into most of his films. 'Highest 2 Lowest' continues the tradition, with former NBA star and 'He Got Game' alum Rick Fox playing a college basketball coach where the kidnapping occurs, flashes of Alexander Van Armstrong's painting of Joe Louis, and the ransom exchange taking place in the Bronx, near Yankee Stadium, where Yankees fans headed to the game holler, 'Boston sucks!' Lee is arguably the most famous supporter of New York teams and is rarely spotted in public without some combination of a Yankees cap, orange-and-blue Knicks apparel and exclusive Jordans (possibly the Spizike edition). For this interview, he's wearing a Knicks hat and a Jordan brand T-shirt. But in his movies, sports references go deeper than decoration. They give deep meaning to his characters and convey the tensions they encounter, often tied to the racial and cultural dynamics that permeate competition. 'It's handed down from your father,' Lee said of his love of sports. 'I was born in 1957. It was different in America. I'm of the generation where fathers took their kids to the sport events even before they could walk. My father, the late Bill Lee, great musician, loved sports. He loved New York teams. And I'm the first child, so big influence from my daddy.' Lee has done documentaries and short films about sports heroes Jim Brown, Kobe Bryant and Mike Tyson. He produced the sports drama 'Love & Basketball.' But the sports film that he's been longing to make for nearly 20 years is 'Save Us, Joe Louis,' a biopic that examines the heavyweight champion's relationship with German rival Max Schmeling. The two boxers met twice at Yankee Stadium: In 1936, with Schmeling knocking out the seemingly invincible Louis in the 12th round in a fight that Adolf Hitler used to support his belief in Aryan superiority, and in 1938, with the Brown Bomber destroying the Nazi propaganda with a first-round knockout. Lee has a script, co-written with Budd Schulberg, the Oscar-winning screenwriter of 'On the Waterfront.' The movie's completion would help Lee fulfill a promise he said he made at Schulberg's deathbed, in 2009. And one of the many movies that Lee was unable to make is a Jackie Robinson biopic starring Washington — and it's a regret that runs deep. Lee grew up in Brooklyn, where the game and America were changed when Robinson integrated Major League Baseball, and the filmmaker's love for Black baseball's pioneers is so deep that he not only owns Josh Gibson's catcher's mitt but named his daughter after Negro Leagues legend Satchel Paige. Lee wrote the script in 1996, basing it on the Robinson autobiography, 'I Never Had It Made,' and conversations with Robinson's widow, Rachel. Finding funding was impossible, and it didn't help that Washington — age 42 at the time — believed he was too old to handle the physical toll of the role. 'I grabbed my knees right away,' Washington said with a laugh. 'Probably too old to slide. I got six knee surgeries that said no.' 'Sometimes your projects just don't get made,' Lee said. 'Jackie is one of my heroes. It was an epic film. I got to read that script again. I haven't read it in a while.' Lee said he is reminded of the cultural significance of 'He Got Game' almost every time he's at his courtside seat cheering on the Knicks. 'People still want to remake it,' Lee said. 'When [players] get a chance, they're going to casually sneak over to me and say, 'Yo Spike, what about that remake? Put me in.' They don't have to mention 'He Got Game,' I know automatically what they're talking about.' 'He Got Game' might never get a sequel, but having the chance to spin the block once more with Washington in 'Highest 2 Lowest' gave Lee the chance to marvel at the actor's brilliance. In another late-night clash similar to the one-on-one battle with Jake and Jesus, Washington finds himself in a recording studio with the man responsible for the kidnapping, Yung Felon, who is portrayed by rapper A$AP Rocky. During the confrontational encounter, Washington took off on an unscripted monologue, mixing lyrics from Nas, Tupac and DMX. 'Bars,' Lee said of the exchange. 'Denzel did his thing, went into his Nas bag and broke out 'Illmatic.' A$AP Rocky went with the flow. I didn't know. Rocky didn't know. Beautiful move. Denzel flipped it and he just lifted the whole scene way up in the sky. When you lift the scene up, you're lifting the movie up, too. That's the intuition that Denzel has about it.'
Yahoo
23-07-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Who are the biggest betrayers in Boston Celtics history?
Who are the biggest betrayers in Boston Celtics history? There have been a handful of players who have left the team to play for a rival over the years, and one in particular who did not leave to a rival but to start his own superteam in a way that hurt the short-term contention capabilities of the Celtics. Most ardent fans of the team know exactly who we are referencing in the latter example, and likely have at least one name in mind for the former one. Players like Boston heel par excellence Kyrie Irving and Hall of Fame Celtics shooting guard Ray Allen stand out (at least for a while) as some of the more notable examples of Boston NBA sports villains. Which one stands alone in that regard, and what other names from other sports populate the list of former allies turned foes for the local faithful? The folks behind the "NESN" YouTube channel put together a clip taking a closer look at the usual suspects. Check it out below! This article originally appeared on Celtics Wire: Who are the biggest betrayers in Celtics history?
USA Today
23-07-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Who are the biggest betrayers in Boston Celtics history?
Who are the biggest betrayers in Boston Celtics history? There have been a handful of players who have left the team to play for a rival over the years, and one in particular who did not leave to a rival but to start his own superteam in a way that hurt the short-term contention capabilities of the Celtics. Most ardent fans of the team know exactly who we are referencing in the latter example, and likely have at least one name in mind for the former one. Players like Boston heel par excellence Kyrie Irving and Hall of Fame Celtics shooting guard Ray Allen stand out (at least for a while) as some of the more notable examples of Boston NBA sports villains. Which one stands alone in that regard, and what other names from other sports populate the list of former allies turned foes for the local faithful? The folks behind the "NESN" YouTube channel put together a clip taking a closer look at the usual suspects. Check it out below!
Yahoo
22-06-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Ray Allen reveals why superstars didn't get along with George Karl: "He always found a way to bring team business into the media"
Ray Allen reveals why superstars didn't get along with George Karl: "He always found a way to bring team business into the media" originally appeared on Basketball Network. For all the brilliance George Karl brought to the sidelines — 1,175 career wins, playoff battles that stretched across four different decades and a pace-and-space ideology that came before its time — his name has often circled controversy. His coaching philosophy wasn't really the problem, but because of how he communicated. Or rather, how many of his former stars claim he didn't. The NBA is filled with stories of combustible relationships between players and coaches. Some ignite dynasties; others burn quietly for years before erupting. In Karl's case, the pattern has been almost rhythmic: a run with a supremely talented team, an eventual playoff disappointment and then, later, headlines filled with unfiltered criticism. "George has always taken shots at me through the media or writing books," former NBA star Ray Allen said, "and it's just the strangest thing, because I always thought we had a good relationship as a player-coach. But he always found a way to bring team business into the media. Talk about what is happening in practice, talk about me." Allen's years with the Milwaukee Bucks from 1996–2003 helped shape him into one of the best two-guards the league had ever seen. By the 2000–01 season, he was averaging 22 points per game, leading the Bucks to a 52-win season and an Eastern Conference finals run that ended in seven hard-fought games against Allen Iverson's Philadelphia 76ers. Coach Karl was on the sidelines then, the architect of a run-and-gun squad that included Glenn "Big Dog" Robinson and Sam Cassell, all orbiting around Allen's smooth shooting and veteran poise. The chemistry on the court didn't always mirror the atmosphere off it. While the Bucks played with flair and cohesion, the behind-the-scenes relationship between player and coach appeared to fracture in ways subtle and strange. Karl's style was never shy. He often wielded the media as an extension of his message, an indirect channel to motivate or critique. For veterans like Allen, who preferred professionalism and discretion, the public commentary chipped away at trust. This wasn't isolated to Milwaukee. Karl's stint in the Seattle SuperSonics, coaching the high-flying team of the '90s, ended similarly. Despite leading the Sonics to a Finals appearance in 1996 and multiple 60-win seasons, the fallout with stars like Shawn Kemp and Gary Payton was headline fodder. He would later detail those relationships, often critically, in his 2017 memoir "Furious George," a book that rekindled old tensions and offered little Allen, his recollection points to a deeper disconnect, one not just of disagreement, but of miscommunication entirely. To hear him tell it, the tension wasn't born of clashes in the locker room or shouting matches in practice. It was the silence. The absence of a conversation that should've happened, replaced instead by headlines and hearsay. "I didn't think anything was wrong until I would talk to the media and they would say that he had a beef with me," Ray said. "And I didn't know any better then, I didn't know what he was pissed off about." And that silence became loud. Allen was traded in 2003 in a deal that sent him to Seattle, a move that shocked many. He would go on to average 24 points per game in his first full season there, earning four more NBA All-Star nods, winning an Olympic gold medal and eventually collecting two NBA titles with the Boston Celtics and Miami Heat. Karl, meanwhile, continued coaching the Denver Nuggets and later the Sacramento Kings. He led the Nuggets to a 57-win season in 2013, which earned him Coach of the Year honors, only to be dismissed that same offseason. By then, the story felt familiar: regular-season success, playoff disappointment and player-coach friction just beneath the surface. Other former players, from DeMarcus Cousins to Carmelo Anthony, echoed versions of Allen's experience. Criticism, delivered not face-to-face but through press conferences or interviews, had become Karl's signature postscript. For some, like Allen, the fallout never erupted into a public feud, but the distance story was originally reported by Basketball Network on Jun 22, 2025, where it first appeared.
NBC Sports
10-06-2025
- Sport
- NBC Sports
Allen: Look out if Giannis ends up with Knicks
Basketball Hall of Famer Ray Allen joins the Dan Patrick Show to discuss potential trade suitors for Giannis Antetokounmpo, LeBron's go-to move, where this Oklahoma City Thunder team ranks all-time and more.
