A movie depicting the storied high school basketball career of the NBA's all-time leading scorer LeBron James, Shooting Stars, is set to air Friday, June 2 on Peacock.
Based on a book written by LeBron James and Buzz Bissinger, Shooting Stars is the story of LeBron and his childhood friends becoming the No. 1 high school basketball team in America.
Top 50 Class of 2023 prospect
Mookie Cook, a 6-foot-7
AZ Compass Prep (Chandler, Ariz.) graduate, played the role of James in the movie. Former
IMG Academy (Bradenton, Fla.) guard and current 2023 NBA Draft prospect Jett Howard played Carmelo Anthony in the film. Stranger Things star Caleb McLaughlin is also featured as Lil Dru, the son of James' high school basketball coach Dru Joyce.
Graduating AZ Compass Prep star Mookie Cook plays the role of LeBron James in the Peacock film. (Photo: Darin Sicurello)
LeBron James had one of the most decorated high school basketball careers of all-time, being deemed "The Chosen One" by Sports Illustrated as an amateur prospect. He averaged 21 points and 6.2 rebounds per contest as a freshman to lead
St. Vincent-St. Mary (Akron, Ohio) to the state title. During his sophomore year he averaged 25.2 points, 7.2 rebounds, 5.8 assists and 3.8 steals per game to guide SVSM to back-to-back state crowns.
As a junior, LeBron upped his averages to 29 points, 8.3 rebounds and 5.7 assists per outing and won national player of the year honors. During his senior season of high school basketball James became a household name around the basketball world and averaged 31.6 points, 9.6 rebounds, 4.6 assists and 3.4 steals per game to guide the Fighting Irish to the national title and win national player of the year honors for a second consecutive season.
James' storied four-year prep career featured national magazine covers, regular appearances on ESPN and more hype than nearly any American prospect in basketball history. Following his stellar four-year prep run he bypassed a college career and was the No. 1 pick in the 2003 NBA Draft by his hometown Cleveland Cavaliers.
This movie was shot on location all over Akron, Ohio and Cleveland, Ohio. Some of the basketball scenes were shot at Case Western Reserve University near downtown Cleveland, Ohio.
