Kevin Durant-produced film features countless Rockets ties

Brooklyn Nets star Kevin Durant’s featured documentary aired on Showtime on Friday, and the film is littered with an abundance of Houston Rockets ties.

ESPN’s docu-series The Last Dance has captured the attention of much of the basketball world, although Houston Rockets general manager Daryl Morey hasn’t been joining us in watching the Michael Jordan-produced feature. Morey hasn’t been alone, however, as former Rockets coach Jeff Van Gundy echoed the same sentiments.

The success of The Last Dance has caused another featured film to go largely unnoticed, as it’s dominated our attention and fulfilled our basketball fix. Brooklyn Nets forward Kevin Durant released his own produced film on Showtime, titled Basketball County: In the Water, which aired on Friday, May 15th.

KD and Rich Kleiman joined forces with Durant’s media company Thirty-Five Ventures to release the 60-minute feature, which chronicles the origins of basketball in Prince George’s County and the current NBA ties to the D.C. suburb. If you’ve not had a chance to watch the documentary, I’d highly recommend it, as it’s well worth your time.

What’s especially interesting for Houstonians is how many ties the film has to the Houston Rockets. The film features appearances from Steve Francis, Jeff Green, Ty Lawson, Michael Beasley, Walt Williams, and Chinanu Onuaku, who all played for the Rockets at one point or another.

Francis and Jeff Green discuss how playing in the DC suburb helped shape their basketball careers, and Green went so far to say how “the birth of Jeff Green” started at North Brentwood Community Center. Beasley outlines his lifelong friendship with Durant, as their friendship dates back to their childhood.

The film airs footage of Beasley and Durant playing AAU games together at the age of 11, which led to a self-proclaimed tale by Beasley of how he used to grab 30 rebounds a game during their AAU days. He also explained how he knew Durant was going to make it to the NBA at age 11.

Each of them recollect playing pick-up games in the outdoor playgrounds of PG County, which were highly competitive battles. Francis elaborates on how scary it was to simply walk home alone at night, due to the crime-ridden area.

The film discusses the rags-to-riches story of Durant, while also detailing the devastating story of Len Bias. The film also displays the difficult circumstances Quinn Cook faced on his NBA journey, which culminated in an NBA title.

All in all, the film may not get as much attention as The Last Dance, but it’s certainly worth a watch. And especially for Houston Rockets fans.