Spike Lee chooses Zion Williamson for the sequel of "He Got Game"

In 1998, Spike Lee brought a cult movie into American sports culture such as "He Got Game" to theaters. The story of Jesus Shuttlesworth (played by ex Bucks, Sonics, Celtics and Heat Ray Allen) is the classic story of a talented boy who is forced to grow up without his father figure - personified by the convict Denzel Washington - and finds himself catapulted into sport system of American colleges.

The cultural influence of Spike Lee's film - capable of launching the Jordan 13 myth even on the big screen - was in some way indirectly proportional to the film's economic success. The box office proceeds reached $ 21,554,585 while the budget that was allocated for production was around $ 25 million. There has often been talk of a sequel and on more than one occasion Spike Lee, Ray Allen and Denzel Washington have met to chat on the sidelines, perhaps a game of the Knicks. The rumors turned into reality after the live Instagram on @jumpman23's profile that involved Spike Lee and Sage Steele.

The director's words not only tell us that the sequel is a tangible idea, but they also add important details. Spike Lee was trying to get a meeting with the first choice at the 2019 NBA draft Zion Williamson, a sports and cultural phenomenon in the USA. The meeting was aimed precisely at a "recruiting" in the cast for "He Got Game 2" but the lockdown blocked every operation.

"We were trying to meet him before [the coronavirus pandemic]. Ray [Allen] and I were trying to meet him in New Orleans. Unfortunately, we are still waiting. My mind is still that. As for the story , the first film is very rich. I have often been asked to develop what happened to the characters of that film over the years, but at the moment my ideas are still confused"

To date, therefore, Spike Lee's words remain, an immense suggestion about a highly anticipated sequel and a certainty: the absence of Jack Shuttlesworth, or rather Denzel Washington, from the cast of the film. With Zion, however, the true evolution of African American culture takes place, of a generation very distant from the one that personified Ray Allen and a different conception of the young athlete.