EXCLUSIVE: Shadow Lion, the company founded by NFL legend Tom Brady, is working on a new documentary chronicling Dubai Basketball’s championship rise.
The company has set Yalla, Dubai: From Startup to Championship, a documentary that follows the team from its launch in 2023 to becoming ABA League champions in their second full season.
Dubai Basketball, which was founded by Chairman Abdulla Saeed Juma Al Naboodah and General Manager Dejan Kamenjašević, won the ABA League title after defeating Partizan 3-1 in the finals in June.
The film features roughly 40 terabytes of archival material and newly captured footage from Dubai, Slovenia and beyond and will feature interviews with Abdulla Saeed Juma Al Naboodah, Kamenjašević, former Head Coach Aleksander Sekulić, current Head Coach Xavi Pascual, captain Klemen Prepelič, NBA veteran Dāvis Bertāns and Dubai Basketball’s Global Ambassador Tristan Thompson.
It is directed by Sami Khan (Starting 5), who exec produces alongside Shadow Lion’s Gilad Haas, Jeff Fine, Lior Haas, David Zabinsky and Philip Byron. Graham McKay and Dan Levy serve as co-executive producers.
“We’re excited to tell this extraordinary and largely untold story,” said Gilad Haas, co-founder of Shadow Lion. “At Shadow Lion, we’re drawn to stories that transcend the game itself, and Dubai Basketball is a remarkable example of that. This is a team built from the ground up by people who came together around a shared love of a sport they each grew up playing in different corners of the globe. The deeper you go, the more compelling the story becomes.”
Khan added, “Dubai Basketball’s story has all the elements of a great sports film – an impossible ambition, a group of outsiders, enormous setbacks and an improbable championship. But what struck me most is how personal this story is for the people who built and became part of this team. Their journey reflects something much larger about Dubai and the idea of coming from somewhere else to pursue a dream. It’s an honor to have the opportunity to tell that story.”
Dubai Basketball Chairman Abdulla Saeed Juma Al Naboodah said, “Dubai Basketball was created with a clear ambition: to build something for Dubai and that can reflect the values of Dubai on the international stage. Winning the ABA League in only our second season was an important moment for Dubai Basketball, but also another step in a much bigger journey. This documentary gives people the opportunity to see how that journey started and the work behind it.”
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