Rumors

Charlotte Hornets forward Grant Williams beamed when Rookie Wire asked him about his first pair of shoes. Like many folks who participated in this project, his tone shifted from dry and media-savvy to giddy and excited. Williams said his family all loves sneakers, and always have. Growing up, he benefitted from wearing the same size as his father. "I remember my first ever pair so well it was the 'Candy Cane' Jordan 14s. I think it was towards the end of my middle school or early high school years," Williams said. "I remember it happening because that was the first time that I was able to choose for myself. Every other time I had shoes, I would borrow my dad’s for like a few hours. Our family was a huge 11s household, like anything 11s was our thing, especially after Space Jam came out."

therookiewire.usatoday.com

Kendrick Perkins: "A lot of times we talk about LeBron James and his lack of relationships, and we look at both parties. But we don’t look at one party—LeBron." "You came into the league wearing number 23, proclaiming yourself to be the GOAT. Eventually it was to be the GOAT." "Just ask Hollywood about the negotiations for Space Jam and some of the stipulations he insisted on. I won’t go there because we’re being nice this morning." "Look at Kobe Bryant. Their relationship wasn’t much until they were Olympic teammates. How much of a relationship did they have after that?"

YouTube

Josh Robbins: For tonight's Wizards-Bulls game, the Wizards will distribute Corey Kispert Space Jam bobbleheads to the first 10,000 fans on Space Jam Night. On that bobblehead, Kispert wears a TuneSquad jersey. So, why a Kispert bobblehead? In 2023, he wore a TuneSquad jersey to the arena on Halloween eve.

bsky.app

Isaiah Hartenstein: I grew up on Michael Jordan. The whole time in the background it was all Michael Jordan, highlights, Space Jam was going on… Michael Jordan one, LeBron James two… after that… Kobe Bryant, I’ll go Shaquille O’Neal… And I think when it's all said and done, I think this is going to be a crazy take… I'll put Stephen Curry.

YouTube

Spencer Hawes: I remember last year, one of my best friends, Mitch Johnson, who coaches for the Spurs, was playing Portland. A bunch of us went down to see the game, and leading up to it, we were all excited, wondering about Victor Wembanyama, “Is he playing? I want to see what this guy looks like in person.” When we got there, he did a couple of those insane moves, like that “go-go gadget” Space Jam thing, where his foot landed before he even dunked the ball. It was wild – something I’d never seen or even imagined before. I turned to my buddy and said, “I think he traveled there, but how do you even officiate something like that?” It was just unreal. Sorry for the tangent, but yeah, it’s those moments where you realize how incredible it is to see certain players in person, and you don’t want to miss out on that.

HoopsHype

Patrick Ewing on Space Jam experience "Michael and I had the same agent, David Falk. So when they talked about doing the movie, they brought me in. I thought it was a great opportunity. We went out to LA. For our scenes, me, Charles, Larry, Muggsy, and Shawn, it took about a month to do. We were out there for a month. It was a lot of fun. We would play pickup ball after the shoot was over, go out to dinner, play pool, talk trash. Michael, being one of the biggest trash talkers, was always riding Charles and myself because we hadn't won anything yet. It was a great experience. I enjoyed the opportunity to be around those guys, learning from them and just being around all those people in the movie. It’s funny, today, more people know me from that movie than from being a player. I'll be going through the airport, and a little kid will say, 'Aren't you the guy from Space Jam?' They don’t say, 'Are you that great player?' They say, 'Are you the guy from Space Jam?'"

YouTube

The MultiVersus roster expands today with the news that LeBron James, Rick Sanchez, and Morty Smith are stepping into the ring. King James joins the roster on July 26, the launch of the open beta, as the version of himself that appeared in Space Jam: A New Legacy. That means he’s rocking his Toon Squad jersey and unleashing all manner of over-the-top basketball moves.

gameinformer.com

But the real key to James’ billion-dollar fortune: He’s been more than just a pitchman. James has long structured deals to give him equity in brands he partners with, giving him a cut of the upside instead of a quick paycheck. In 2015, James walked away from an endorsement agreement with McDonald’s, worth an estimated $15 million over four years, to instead gamble on the fast-growing Blaze Pizza chain, where he’s an investor. He’s taken equity in brands like smart gym-maker Tonal and rideshare giant Lyft as well. Then there’s SpringHill, the TV and movie production outfit built by James and business partner Maverick Carter. Last October, outside investors including Boston Red Sox owner Fenway Sports Group and Epic Games bought into the venture–which helped produce the $163 million (worldwide box office gross) Space Jam: A New Legacy and HBO documentary What’s My Name: Muhammad Ali–at a $725 million valuation. James, of course, remains the biggest shareholder.

Forbes.com

Hi Muggsy, what’s something most people don’t know about the making of Space Jam? Muggsy Bogues: During my part I had actually just had surgery so I wasn't actually walking when filming they were pulling me on a dolly

reddit

Space Jam: A New Legacy and star LeBron James became part of the annual Golden Raspberry Awards. The Razzies traditionally celebrate the worst coming out of Hollywood on the eve of the Oscar Awards. The Los Angeles Lakers star himself, taking over from Michael Jordan in the Space James sequel, was named worst actor and worst screen couple along with any cartoon character of Warner Bros, as announced On Razzies.com. The movie was labeled as the worst remake, rip-off or sequel.

EuroHoops.net

The Razzie® Awards: LeBron, Bruce Willis and Diana! Watch the 42nd Razzie Awards! @KingJames

Twitter

Anthony Chiang: Erik Spoelstra says his two sons will watch LeBron James play in person for the first time today. But they're already big fans of LeBron because of Space Jam 2.

Twitter

You featured in The Last Dance in 2020. What did you make of the documentary and your portrayal? Charles Oakley: "Everybody got to see a different side of Michael Jordan, if you didn't see the Hall of Fame speech. In the speech he pointed out a lot of people who were waving their finger at him, so he got the last finger point. The Last Dance is the same thing, he got the last say. If you mention Michael Jordan, you can’t have the first say, you’d better have the last say. "It was great. We got a chance to see the other side of some other guys. It was a documentary so it was put together like Michael Jordan always wants to look good, so a lot of guys felt like he let them down, but it's like a movie, you know? If you ain't the main actor you ain't gonna be a big part of it. I didn't have no bad feelings about what he said about me. He put me in The Last Dance, he put me in the Hall of Fame speech, he put me in Space Jam, so I'll wait for the next show.

Betway.com

Scottie Pippen has recently been in the news because of some shots he’s taken at Michael Jordan and The Last Dance. What’s your opinion on his comments? Charles Oakley: "Scottie felt like he was mistreated, and he didn't look good. Scottie did some things that we talked about. I’m friends with Scottie and Mike, but I don't talk about Mike to Scottie, or Scottie to Mike. "I know everybody thinks it’s some feud from The Last Dance, I think it's something else that happened. We don't know, but one day we will find out. I don't think Scottie would just turn from all this from The Last Dance. Some stuff happened 10, 20 years ago but now he’s got a platform to talk about it. But he did say he wants to have his last say about The Last Dance, so who knows what's going on?

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