Inspiring Apple Original docuseries “The Long Game: Bigger Than Basketball” about NBA hopeful Makur Maker to debut globally April 22 on Apple TV+

Apple TV+ today announced that its new five-part documentary series “The Long Game: Bigger Than Basketball,” chronicling the inspiring, coming-of-age story of basketball phenom Makur Maker, will make its global debut on Friday, April 22 on Apple TV+.

Seth Gordon (“Undefeated,” “The King of Kong,” “For All Mankind”) directs and executive produces “The Long Game: Bigger Than Basketball,” which follows Maker, the NBA hopeful who grabbed global headlines with his groundbreaking decision to forgo the NBA and play for Howard University, making him the highest-ranked high school player in the modern recruiting era to commit to a historically Black university (HBCU). The docuseries is an intimate look at Makur’s life as a student-athlete with a dream of making it to the NBA, while unexpected physical challenges and a global pandemic threaten his college career. Off the courts, “The Long Game: Bigger Than Basketball” explores how his journey from fleeing war-torn South Sudan as a child and his tight-knit support system led him to go to an HBCU, and in turn, allowed him to make an impactful statement in the wake of America’s cultural response to the Black Lives Matter movement.

In addition to Gordon, executive producers are Nikki Calabrese, Andrew Fried, Dane Lillegard, Sarina Roma, Jordan Wynn, Luis Lopez, Julia Gunn and Sony Pictures Television. “The Long Game: Bigger Than Basketball” is produced for Apple by Exhibit A and Boardwalk Pictures.

“The Long Game: Bigger Than Basketball” joins a growing lineup of acclaimed and award-winning docuseries and documentaries on Apple TV+, including the soon-to-premiere and highly anticipated four-part Earvin “Magic” Johnson docuseries “They Call Me Magic”; Emmy Award-winning “Boys State”; “The Velvet Underground,” the acclaimed documentary from director Todd Haynes; Critics Choice Award-winning, and Emmy and Grammy Award-nominated, “Beastie Boys Story”; the global smash hit documentary “Billie Eilish: The World’s A Little Blurry”; Werner Herzog’s Critics Choice Documentary Award nominee “Fireball: Visitors from Darker Worlds”; as well as upcoming documentaries “The Supermodels” and “Number One on the Call Sheet” from acclaimed storytellers Jamie Foxx, Kevin Hart, Datari Turner and Dan Cogan, and more.