Adam Sandler is hitting the court in his next movie. On Tuesday, Netflix released the first full trailer for the basketball film Hustle, which stars Sandler and Queen Latifah. Sandler plays Stanley Sugarman, a scout for the Philadelphia 76ers who is looking to become an NBA coach. Hustle will start streaming on Netflix on June 8.
“After discovering a once-in-a-lifetime player with a rocky past abroad, a down on his luck basketball scout (Adam Sandler) takes it upon himself to bring the phenom to the States without his team’s approval,” the official synopsis states. Against the odds, they have one final shot to prove they have what it takes to make it in the NBA.”
Videos by PopCulture.com
Hustle also stars Ben Foster, Robert Duvall, former NBA star Kenny Smith and current NBA star Juancho Herangómez. There will be also appearances from NBA players Anthony Edwards, Trae Young, Jordan Clarkston, Kyle Lowry and Seth Curry among others. Jeremiah Zagar is the director while Sandler is a producer along with LeBron James. Filming of Hustle began in October 2020 in Philadelphia.
This week, Sandler spoke to Entertainment Weekly and explained why he wanted to be in Hustle. “LeBron’s company and [producer] Joe Roth sent over the script, and I was like, ‘Wow, this is definitely something I could get excited about.’” Sandler said. “I liked the feeling of it, the father-son relationship that comes out of it, and I just connected to a lot of stuff in it, [like how] having to go on the road and missing your family hurts. And some of the advice my character gives Bo Cruz in the movie is: “If you’re gonna go after it, that’s got to be the thing you think about the most. You can’t stop thinking about it.”
Sandler also talked about the different cameos in the movie. “All of the guys did us such favors, so I don’t want to single anybody out, but I’m sure they all would agree that [working with] Julius Erving, with what he’s done for the game and what he did for all of us, was truly an honor, ” Sandler said. “Shaking hands with the guy, talking to him and laughing with him, was something that my father would have been baffled by. We talked about Dr. J a lot in my house, and I had a poster of him in my room growing up. He was a sweetheart, and I can’t thank him enough.”
