1996 USA Women’s Basketball Team Set For ESPN 30 For 30 Doc

Peter White
·2 min read

EXCLUSIVE: The Women’s Dream Team, the 1996 USA Women’s basketball team, dominated the Centennial Olympic Games in Atlanta in 1996 going undefeated to win the gold medal.

The story of how they got there is now to be the subject of a feature doc for ESPN’s 30 for 30 strand.

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The film will tell the story of the grueling 15-month road trip that led up to those ’96 Games. It’s the story of the 12 women who were tasked with auditioning the idea of women’s professional basketball in the United States. They absolutely held the very future of the sport in their hands.

After having suffered defeat at the ’92 games and the ’94 World Championship, USA Basketball undertook a revolutionary approach to training its Olympic team by structuring a long-term National Team program comprised of 52 games to turn them into a cohesive unit for 10-months ahead of Atlanta.

Kristen Lappas, who directed doc Blackfeet Boxing and who has produced a series of 30 for 30s including Al Davis vs. The NFL and Long Gone Summer, will direct. Lappas’ film Blackfeet Boxing is currently being adapted as a scripted project by Freeform and Touchstone.

The film will include exclusive behind-the-scenes footage that the NBA shot of the team’s 15 month tour. Rebecca Lobo, Ruthie Bolton, Nikki McCray, Jennifer Azzi, Katy Steding, Teresa Edwards, Carla McGhee, Sheryl Swoopes, and coach Tara VanDerveer will all feature.

There’s no premiere date but the film will debut in 2022 in conjunction with 50 year anniversary of Title IX and comes after the 25th anniversary of the WNBA’s creation.

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