🎙️ Voice is AI-generated. Inconsistencies may occur.
Adam Sandler and LeBron James are officially teammates.
On Friday, Netflix released the first official trailer for Hustle, co-produced by Sandler and James. Described as a "love letter to basketball," both Netflix and James confirmed that Hustle will be available to stream on June 10.
Starring Sandler as down-on-his luck basketball scout Stanley Sugarman who finds a potential NBA superstar while traveling abroad, Hustle is directed by We The Animals director Jeremiah Zagar, and co-written by Will Fetters and Taylor Materne, according to Netflix.
The film's first trailer, released on Netflix's official Twitter account, shows Sandler and prospect Bo Cruz, played by Utah Jazz forward Juancho Hernangomez, as they both attempt to prove they belong on basketball's biggest stages. With cameos from fellow NBA players Anthony Edwards, Matisse Thybulle, Tyrese Maxey, Kyle Lowry, Tobias Harris, Seth Curry, Aaron Gordon and a handful of others, the first Hustle trailer ends with Sandler's character questioning Cruz's dedication to basketball.
"Do you love this game?" he asks.
Over the years, both Sandler and James have crossed over into each other's lines of work.
In 2015, James appeared in Trainwreck alongside Bill Hader and Amy Schumer. Three years later, the NBA superstar voiced Gwangi, a purple yeti, in Warner Bros. animated film Smallfoot, per IMDb.
However, James' biggest Hollywood breakthrough came in the form of Space Jam 2.
Released on July 16, 2021, the sequel to Michael Jordan's iconic 1996 film, Space Jam 2 generated more than $31 million during its opening weekend, and has grossed more than $144 million worldwide, according to The Numbers database.
Sandler, who has gone viral for his pickup basketball efforts countless times, showed off his hoops prowess in 2010's Grown Ups, and last September, the 55-year-old actor was filmed playing alongside Atlanta Hawks' star Trae Young, who also makes an appearance in the first Hustle trailer.
Hustle, which marks Sandler's ninth starring role in a Netflix original movie, is also set to feature multiple other heavy hitters.
Queen Latifah plays Sugarman's wife, while Robert Duvall, Ben Foster, Jordan Hull, Ainhoa Pillet, Maria Botto and former NBA player Kenny Smith round out the film's star-studded cast.
While Sandler has made a career of making moviegoers laugh, Hustle will seemingly bring a more serious tone.
During a tense conversation between Sandler's and Hernangomez's characters, the weathered scout paints a stark picture for the NBA hopeful, and challenges the once-phenom to dig deeper within himself.
"There's a thousand guys waiting in the wings who are obsessed with this game," Sugarman tells Cruz. "Obsession is going to beat talent every time."
"You got all the talent in the world," he continues. "But are you obsessed?"
Newsweek reached out to Netflix for comment.
About the writer
Taylor McCloud is a Newsweek staff writer based in California. His focus is reporting on trending and viral topics. Taylor ... Read more