'The Next Stars' feat. LaMelo Ball coming to the big screen

A new feature length documentary charting the rise of former Illawarra Hawk LaMelo Ball from the NBL to the NBA will be released at HOYTS cinemas across Australia from March 4.

The Next Stars' also follows the stories of RJ Hampton, Didi Louzada and Terry Armstrong as they chased their NBA dream during one of the most memorable seasons in the 42-year history of the NBL.

The documentary takes viewers inside the locker room across the 2019-20 Hungry Jack’s NBL Season in never-before-seen footage of the NBA hopefuls.

Ball was selected at pick three in the NBA Draft by the Charlotte Hornets after his season at the Illawarra Hawks where he won the NBL Rookie of the Year. He recently became the youngest ever NBA player to score a triple double, a feat he emulated in the NBL.

Hampton was selected at pick 24 by the Milwaukee Bucks and traded to the Denver Nuggets after his season with the SKY Sport New Zealand Breakers.

CLICK HERE TO WATCH TRAILER OF THE NEXT STARS DOCUMENTARY

Former Hawks legend Tim Coenraad said the immense following Ball brought to the Hawks franchise was unbelievable.

"We didn't really realise the level of attention that he was gonna get until we went to Albury [small town on the border of NSW and Victoria] for our preseason tournament and we had to walk about couple of hundred metres to Woolworths and he probably got stopped about five times in that 200m from people in a small town in the middle of nowhere," Coenraad said.

"Seeing the amount of recognition and seeing how much people already knew who he was was on another level."

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Counting down the Top 5? Plays from LaMelo Ball in <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NBL20?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#NBL20</a> with the Hawks ?<br><br>Next stop: the <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NBADraft?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#NBADraft</a> <a href="https://t.co/uwafGO6GWh">pic.twitter.com/uwafGO6GWh</a></p>&mdash; Illawarra Hawks Basketball (@illawarrahawks) <a href="https://twitter.com/illawarrahawks/status/1328956103338700802?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 18, 2020</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

"Every game we went to it was packed and it was no secret as to why. You're first impression of him was that he's very laid back but when you get to know him he takes this game very seriously and the thing that impressed me most was his willingness to learn."

Coenraad also commended the NBL on the success of the Next Stars program.

'The program is definitely something the NBL should continie to nurture because it gives us that link to the NBA and it's very marketable for the NBL. The NBL gets great exposure around the world from the program and from players who come to play in the league. It's also putting the NBL on a world stage. Our league is now seen as possibly the second best league in the world," Coenraad said.

NBL Commissioner Jeremy Loeliger said the league was given incredible access to film the quartet of NBL Next Stars.

“The documentary takes the viewer inside their journey and shows what it takes to achieve their dream to play in the biggest sporting league in the world, the NBA," Loeliger said.

“It also showcases the NBL, now widely considered to be one of the premier basketball leagues in the world and a genuine pathway for future NBA stars, in a way that’s never been done before," Loeliger said.

“LaMelo Ball’s success in his rookie season with Charlotte is a tremendous endorsement of the NBL and its status in global basketball and I’m sure all sports fans will enjoy the inside story of 'The Next Stars'."

The Next Stars will screen at selected HOYTS cinemas from March 4. 

CLICK HERE for more details.