Tag: Spike Lee

Lee, who created and starred as the …

Lee, who created and starred as the shoe-obsessed character in his film, “She’s Gotta Have It,” gave credit to Nike’s founder for giving his stamp of approval for the campaign. “Nike’s agency saw the film, called me up outta nowhere and said, ‘we want you to be in a national campaign with Michael Jordan, you play Mars Blackmon, but there’s one catch Michael Jordan has not seen the film and does not know who you are,’” Lee recalled, laughing about his early days in the industry. “We gotta give credit to Phil Knight. It’s his decision — to have a black guy be the face of your company — so give him credit and the rest is history,” he added.

As a basketball fan, Lee remembered …

As a basketball fan, Lee remembered what it was like sitting courtside during Jordan’s heyday at one of his favorite NBA stages. “New York City would be on fire when Michael Jordan would come to the Garden,” Lee said. “I think one of the reasons why Mike liked playing in the Garden is he understood that New York City, that basketball’s our game and we appreciate great performances.” “Even though he was killin’ us,” Lee said of the Knicks, who “couldn’t get past the Bulls — we had to see this guy.”

The footage, until it was unearthed for …

The footage, until it was unearthed for this project, had been locked in a vault at NBA Entertainment. Silver said many people — Spike Lee, Danny DeVito and more — expressed interest in putting together the documentary over the years and that it became a running joke between he and Jordan if it would ever be seen. Nearly a quarter-century later, the big moment has finally arrived. “We made it happen, but I would only say in all seriousness, this would not have happened if we had a specific project budget,” Silver said. “We would have had a zero under revenue and a large number under expense. I think it was more a gut feeling we had that it was our obligation to do this and we would spend what was necessary to capture what we knew was one of the greatest athletes and one of the greatest teams of all time.”

Do you think you could mediate a …

Do you think you could mediate a sit-down between James Dolan and Charles Oakley and Spike Lee? Rick Pitino: (Chuckle) I would love to try, ’cause I love Oakley and I love Spike. … The best thing to do is just everybody in a room, hash it out, speak it out, and become friends, that’s the best way to do it. If I was Jim Dolan, call up Spike, call up Oak, put ’em in a room, “Hey guys, let’s leave this best friends and let’s move on.”

In an aggressive attempt to promote its …

In an aggressive attempt to promote its June 27 outdoor festival at Flushing Meadows, the Big3 — a three-on-three professional basketball league — appeared to brand Dolan as having racial animus in a full-page ad that ran in Friday’s Post. The Big3 advertisement contains, at the top, a quote from Dolan’s chief antagonist, Charles Oakley, stating, “It’s a plantation over there.’’

Knicks alum Stephon Marbury is siding …

Knicks alum Stephon Marbury is siding with Spike Lee in the filmmaker’s battle with the team’s owner, Jim Dolan. Lee is boycotting Madison Square Garden after he was asked to use the VIP entrance, rather than the employee entrance he has used for 28 years, at a game Monday. “I mean, he just gotta go through a different door,” Marbury told Page Six, “but at the same time, I think Spike always deserved the red-carpet treatment, because he spent millions — probably $10 million — on floor seats going to the Garden all these years. I think they will figure it out.”

Chris Paul disappointed Spike Lee wasn’t at MSG for Thunder vs. Knicks

Although the Thunder left Madison Square Garden with a victory on Friday night, Chris Paul was a tad bit disappointed.

For an entire generation of basketball fans, Spike Lee has been synonymous with the New York Knicks. A fixture in his courtside seat for more than 20 years, this past week, the entire NBA world took notice when Lee had what became a very public feud with the organization.

As the week progressed, the sides have shown no signs of squashing their beef, and with the Thunder making their lone visit to Madison Square Garden on Friday night, Chris Paul let it be known where he stood.

In what appeared to be somewhat of a tribute, Paul wrote “Do The Right Thing” on his sneakers before he went out and turned in a 21-point, 12-assist effort. He led the Thunder to a 126-103 victory in New York City, but still was somewhat disappointed after the contest.

Lee, who vowed to not return to Madison Square Garden for the remainder of the season, wasn’t on hand to witness the performance.

“I done known Spike for a while, man and, shoot, I had talked to Spike a couple days ago actually looking forward to him being here at the game to watch me play, cus I haven’t played here in two years. I haven’t played here — 15 years I’ve been in the league, I might have played here like eight times or something, I usually always miss this game, so I was excited to see Spike and didn’t get to see him.”

The comments from Paul and the timing of the situation are interesting because Paul’s former agent, Leon Rose, was officially named President of the New York Knicks this past week. Shortly thereafter, rumors began swirling that Rose could be inclined to seek a deal for Paul in the offseason.

At the very least, there is some affinity between the two. Paul’s comments and his tribute to Lee, however, may not necessarily endear him to Rose’s bosses at MSG.

With the win, the Thunder improved to 39-24 on the season as they look to sweep their quick three-game Eastern Conference road trip when they visit the Celtics on Sunday.

 

Two days after Oakley was arrested and …

Two days after Oakley was arrested and dragged out of the Garden in February of 2017, Dolan famously invited several former players — including Latrell Sprewell — to attend a game. It was a transparent attempt to show Dolan had support despite the Oakley fiasco. One of the players in attendance, Vin Baker, told the Huffington Post at the time that Dolan “called me sounding really sad asking me if I would come sit with him. Hadn’t spoke to him in 15 years.” Lee, however, was clearly supporting Oakley. He wore a #34 Oakley jersey at his courtside seat and criticized Dolan for calling his friend an alcoholic.