After ‘Last Dance,’ is KD’s ‘In the Water’ next big hoops doc?

“The Last Dance,” the epic 10-part ESPN documentary, is providing hoops fans with some needed comfort food while shut in during the coronavirus pandemic.

Now, with appetites whetted, fans will be looking for the next sports doc to sustain them and that could be “Basketball County: In the Water,” Kevin Durant’s loving look at Prince Georges (“P.G.”) County, Maryland, his home growing up.

In addition, three days later, you’ll be able to see DeAndre Jordan in “Blackballed,” a documentary about their owner Donald Sterling’s racism.

The KD documentary was announced just before the pandemic hit and Durant, along with his 35 Ventures Foundation, will premiere it on on Showtime a week from Friday. The trailer for the documentary was released on April 27...

A lot of places can (and will) claim to be the ultimate hoops factory —and in fact, a little more than a year ago, Dzanan Musa and Luka Doncic were featured in a documentary about the former republics of Yugoslavia. It was entitled, “Something in the Water!”

But PG county, a suburb of Washington, DC, is currently the place. As the Washington Post reported the three players who are executive producers — Durant, Victor Oladipo and Quinn Cook along with KD manager Rich Kleiman — “are part of a long line of roughly three dozen players with Prince George’s County ties who have gone on to play in the NBA or WNBA this century, including Michael Beasley, Rebekkah Brunson, Marissa Coleman, Markelle Fultz, Ty Lawson, Jeff Green, Rodney McGruder and DerMarr Johnson.”

In a statement, KD spoke about the project that he and Kleiman, greenlighted.

“This is a project that is near and dear to my heart,” Durant, who opened the Durant Center in his hometown last year, said in a statement. “Having grown up in Prince George’s County and with my family residing there today, it’s my life’s mission to not only give back through my foundation but continue to tell the amazing stories of those that have come from there.”

The documentary is the vision of another PG hoopster turned filmmaker, John Beckham who says without Durant and Kleiman, the project doesn’t happen.

“I knew that we had to not just ask him but show him some work, so I did some interviews with some local NBA guys, made a sizzle reel and sent that to his manager, Rich [Kleiman],” Beckham told the Post. “They dug it, and they’ve been in since then. … I don’t really know if this happens if Kevin isn’t involved in it. He’s really putting on for the county with the movie but also all the people involved in it. It’s pretty awesome, I think.”

It’s not just basketball, but the societal influences that drove it.

“It’s a piece about community, made by the community, for the community,” Beckham said.

“Blackballed” will air on Quibi, the new streaming service, starting May 18. It will feature DeAndre Jordan along with other former Clippers Chris Paul and J.J. Redick. Here’s the trailer for that.

• Kevin Durant’s ‘In The Water’ Could Be Next Huge Hoops Documentary After ‘The Last Dance’ - Adam Zagoria - Forbes