June 08, 2023
Provided Image/Showtime
'Goliath: The Complete Story of Wilt Chamberlain' will air on Showtime starting Sunday, July 16. The three-part documentary series will examine the life of one of the NBA's most transcendent stars.
Wilt Chamberlain was a polarizing athlete for the better part of three decades, from his days at West Philly's Overbrook High School in the mid-1950s to his NBA retirement in 1973, and is renowned worldwide as one of the greatest basketball players ever.
Viewers will learn more about the life of "the Big Dipper" thanks to a three-part Showtime documentary series. "Goliath: The Complete Story of Wilt Chamberlain" premieres Sunday, July 16, with the final two episodes showing in the following two weeks.
The series will use artificial intelligence to recreate Chamberlain's voice as narration. It will touch on Chamberlain's national recognition as a high schooler, show his life as a collegiate athlete at the University of Kansas and review his NBA career up until his 1999 death.
Each episode of "Goliath" highlights a specific element of Chamberlain's cultural impact, focusing on power, money, race, sex, politics and celebrity.
"We are honored to team up with this group of talented filmmakers to bring the underexamined story of Wilt Chamberlain's complex life to the masses," Stephen Espinoza, President of Showtime Sports, said. "Everybody knows Wilt for his legendary accomplishments on the basketball court – scoring 100 points in a game, averaging 50 points and 25 rebounds in a season – but there's so much more to him than his stats. He was far ahead of his time in many ways that will last infinitely longer than the numbers on a scoreboard."
The docuseries will include interviews with basketball stars like Kevin Garnett, Pat Riley, Rick Barry, Bill Walton, Lisa Leslie, Oscar Robertson and Jerry West, as well as NFL great Jim Brown and journalist Jemele Hill.
"It was an honor and privilege for my team and me to share Wilt's incredible legacy with the world," Garnett said. "Wilt's cultural impact as a prominent outspoken African American athlete was revolutionary, especially when social strength was not popular."
The series was produced by Village Roadshow Television and Gotham Chopra's Religion of Sports in association with Garnett's Content Cartel, Happy Madison Productions and Heeltap! Entertainment.
