Spike Lee's Class Hoops Film "He Got Game" Turns 15

Enthralled as he might be in leading his Miami Heat to back-to-back NBA titles, sharp-shooting guard Ray Allenl likely has an eye cast on his second career already.

It’s been 15 years since Allen made his film debut in Spike Lee’s cult hoops film “He Got Game.” Playing the role of Jesus Shuttlesworth, Allen teamed with Academy Award winner Denzel Washington, who played the role of his father, Jake Shuttleworth, in a film Dime Magazine still deems “the top basketball movie of all time.”

It tells the story of the top high school player in the nation and all the pressures that stem from such status, as well as a teen’s strained relationship with his wayward father, jailed for the accidental death of his beloved mother.

To this day, the movie still serves a blueprint of what a hoops film should be and made Lee legendary within the genre. Lee took a chance in casting the then 22-year-old Allen in the co-starring role, but in his mind he really had little choice.

“A bigger risk would have been to cast an actor to play the best high school player in the nation,” Lee told ESPN’s First Take. “You see these basketball movies… somebody shoots. What’s next shot? The ball going through the hoop. I hate that.”

Many agree that the movie was steeped in realism. Loosely based on the life of Stephon Marbury, Allen was only Lee’s third choice for the role, behind Marbury and Allen Iverson. The difference was Allen was actually willing to audition for the role.

“I think my role was important because it helped a lot of kids to see what they may have to deal with in not only basketball, but in life as well,” Allen said via a team spokesperson. “To this day, I still get called Jesus at least once a day.”

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