A team of Arizona teams have moved beyond rezball to a Netflix show
CHINLE, Ariz.-The Chinle High School basketball team, in Chinle, Arizona, is getting a lot of attention these days. On August 2, the small-town high school team on the Navajo Nation, made its debut Friday, Aug. 2, on Netflix.
The series, called "Basketball or Nothing," is comprised of six episodes and follows the team's pursuit of the semifinals during their 2017-2018 season.
"We fell in love with the story because a lot of these kids have some difficult situations at home, or some obstacles that a lot of people aren't used to seeing, whether its not having running water or not having electricity, and a lot of odds stacked against them," Matt Howley, the executive producer and co-director of the film, told an ABC15. "But it's pretty inspiring and they had an awesome season while we were following them."
The sport, known as "rezball" (reservation basketball) on the reservation, is looser and faster than traditional basketball. And for this community, basketball is king. In a town so remote that the nearest Walmart is two hours away and there's little entertainment, basketball takes the front stage for entertainment. On game days, the 6,000 gymnasium seats tend to be filled.
The docu-series crew filmed for an estimated 60 days on the reservation, also creating some follow-up segments. Since the show is being released through Netflix, it will be translated into 30 languages.
" I think these kids are going to really resonate with people," says Howley.
