Nathanial “Sweetwater” Clifton was the first African American basketball player to land an NBA contract. Clifton would become part of the fabric of the NY Knicks, becoming the oldest first-time NBA All-Star at age 34 and a member of the Basketball Hall of Fame (2014). His legacy with the Knicks continues as they present their Nat “Sweetwater” Clifton City Spirit Award for positive work in the community annually.
Robert Littal spoke with Everett Osborne, who plays the starring role in the movie.
We spoke about what it was like finding out about the struggles of Sweetwater, the fantastic cast, and playing real basketball on set.
Here is more about the movie.
Sweetwater is an upcoming American sports biographical independent film directed and written by Martin Guigui. It stars Everett Osborne, Cary Elwes, Jeremy Piven, Richard Dreyfuss and Kevin Pollak. Osborne portrays Nat Clifton as the film depicts the true story of his career in the 1950s, starting with the Harlem Globetrotters before becoming the first African-American to sign a contract with the National Basketball Association.
Nat “Sweetwater” Clifton is the main attraction of the Harlem Globetrotters team, under the guidance of their owner and coach, Abe Saperstein. As Ned Irish, a New York Knicks executive, and their coach, Joe Lapchick, take the initiative to integrate the team with support of NBA President, Maurice Podoloff. They soon join hands with the other owners of the league and create a historic moment
Production was subsequently completed by October 2022, with Pollak as Saperstein, Dreyfuss as Maurice Podoloff, Cary Elwes as Irish, Jeremy Piven as Joe Lapchick. Gary Clark Jr and Bobby Portis make cameos. Guigui and Jeff Cardoni composed the film’s score.
The film will be released on April 14th.
This is an essential film in black history, so be sure to go out and support it. You can watch the full interview below.