Showtime Sports has announced that NBA legend Wilt Chamberlain will be the subject of a new docuseries called Goliath, reports Deadline.
The three-part documentary will explore Chamberlain’s life as he emerged as a multi-sport phenom in high school during the 1950s, his legendary career in the NBA, and his cultural impact on the court “ the areas of power, money, race, sex, politics, and celebrity.”
Rob Ford and Christopher Dillon are directing the docuseries with Kevin Garnett, Pat Riley, Rick Barry, Jemele Hill, Jerry West, Jackie MacMullan, Bob Ryan, Tom Meschery, Dr. Todd Boyd and clinical psychologist Orna Guralnik; they will all provide commentary throughout the series.
Garnett, who also produced the docuseries through his company Content Cartel, shared his excitement about the upcoming release of the project.
“It was an honor and privilege for my team and me to share Wilt’s incredible legacy with the world. Wilt’s cultural impact as a prominent outspoken African American athlete was revolutionary, especially during a time when social strength was not popular,” Garnett said. “There is no KG, [Michael] Jordan, Hakeem [Olajuwon], LeBron [James], Kobe [Bryant] or Shaq [O’Neal] if Wilt [didn’t] pave our way. We all stand on his strong shoulders.
“We are honored to team up with this group of talented filmmakers to bring the underexamined story of Wilt Chamberlain’s complex life to the masses,” added Showtime Sports President Stephen Espinoza. “Everybody knows Wilt for his legendary accomplishments on the basketball court—scoring 100 points in a game, averaging 50 points and 25 rebounds in a season—but there’s so much more to him than his stats. He was far ahead of his time in so many ways that will last infinitely longer than the numbers on a scoreboard.”
Considered one of the top players in the history of the NBA, Chamberlain won two NBA championships,4 regular-season MVP awards, the Rookie of the Year, 1 Finals MVP and 1 All-Star Game MVP; he was selected to 13 All-Star Games and 10 All-NBA Teams. Also, he remains the only player in NBA history to score 100 points in a single game.
Chamberlain was enshrined in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1978. In addition, he was named to the NBA’s 35th, 50th and 75th-anniversary teams. Chamberlain passed away in 1999.
Goliath will premiere on demand and will start streaming on July 14, 2023 for all Paramount+ with Showtime subscribers, before debuting on Showtime on July 16, 2023 at 10pm ET/PT; new episodes will each Sunday.
