Netflix Picks Up Native American Docuseries Basketball or Nothing

The WorkShop Content Studios and PGA Tour champion Rickie Fowler and his Main Event Productions have teamed for Basketball or Nothing, a six-part docuseries that has been picked up by Netflix.

Basketball or Nothing, which follows the lives of the Chinle High School boys’ basketball team based on the Navajo Nation reservation in Arizona, is set to premiere on the streaming service on August 2 at 3:01 a.m. The six-parter was conceived by The WorkShop Content Studios’ producer and director, Matt Howley.

For the Chinle High Wildcats, basketball played at a state-of-the-art gym is the ultimate escape from life’s troubles while balancing home, academics and sports. With their aim set on an Arizona State Division III Championship, the Wildcats’ games attract more than 6,000 people to a town populated by only 4,500 residents. Some fans hitchhike to the games, and others travel distances of up to 80 miles. The team uses a style of play known as “rezball,” which focuses on offense and moves at an up-tempo, aggressive pace.

After winning 18 games the prior season, the pressure is on the boys and their head coach Raul Mendoza to produce a championship season.

The WorkShop Content Studios CEO Tom Farrell said, “Rickie and I are excited to be working with Netflix to put this important series in front of the public. Basketball or Nothing tells a story that while unfamiliar to the majority of Americans, is a story that deserves to be told and felt. As an athlete and part Native American, Rickie helped us ensure that the series remained real and true to the team and its loyal fans on the reservation.”

Fowler, a professional golfer who is part Navajo, said, “These Navajo kids face many obstacles and hardships both on and off the court. Working with Tom and The WorkShop Content Studios provided a great opportunity for me to help tell their stories. Basketball or Nothing captures the real-world drama of facing stiff competition from opposing teams, striving for a championship and hoping to make their families and the Navajo Nation proud of them.”

Executive producers for Basketball or Nothing include Fowler, Farrell, Howley, Todd Donnelly and Joseph Witthohn, as well as Notah Begay III, a former professional golfer and current golf analyst who was the first full-blooded Native American to play on PGA Tour, and Sam MacNaughton, Fowler’s agent.