Welcome to the Space Jam! With Don Cheadle and Director Malcolm D. Lee | The Crossover NBA Show With Howard Beck
On the Friday edition, Howard Beck welcomes the director and star of Space Jam: A New Legacy, Malcolm D. Lee and Don Cheadle, to talk about working with LeBron, shooting hoops on set and acting versus playing in the NBA.
The following transcript is an excerpt from The Crossover NBA podcast. Listen to the full episode on podcast players everywhere or on SI.com.
Howard Beck: So this leads me to this important question, then. I need the honest answer. Prior to working with LeBron, were you rooting for or against LeBron as a Knicks fan? Was he somebody that you gravitated toward as an NBA fan? What was your LeBron standpoint?
Malcolm D. Lee: I tell you what, I love LeBron James. Love him. You know, from the moment he came into the league, or he came into my consciousness, I really enjoyed him. And I've been rooting for him for a very long time. In fact, we were scheduled to work together twice before. When it was his second or third year in the league, Rich Paul had called me about possibly doing something with him. And I couldn't quite figure out what the idea was. And then we were going to do this thing with Universal about a fantasy basketball camp. And we were going down the road with that, right before he joined the Heat. So I've been a LeBron fan for a very long time. I know I'm going to contradict myself by saying, "What's up with super teams?" When he joined the Heat, I was just like, he could not find a way to win in Cleveland. And then he came back to win in Cleveland. So I applaud him; I think he's a winner. I think he stands for everything good in the world and for human beings. So I really root for LeBron and have for a while.
HB: So that was an easy thing then, to be working with him? It wasn't like bringing in somebody who you've been booing and were rooting against their team. So this was an easy thing for you?
MDL: Yeah, with LeBron, for sure. I mean, like, you know, I've been dying to work with the guy, you know. And so it was a great opportunity.
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