Imagine not being old enough to drink and suddenly finding yourself playing a schoolyard game for millions of dollars on one of the world’s largest athletic stages.
Or think about being just past your 21st birthday and suddenly being anointed the star and savior of a billion-dollar industry. It isn’t easy, apparently, being a rookie in the National Basketball Association.
Spike TV is pairing with NBA Entertainment to make “NBA Rookies,” a six-part documentary series that focuses on the lives of NBA neophytes, both on and off the court.
The NBA had cameras trailing some of the league’s best first-year players from draft day, through their first preseason practices, through the All-Star break and up to the season’s final games.
Rookie of the Year Emeka Okafor of the expansion Charlotte Bobcats and all-rookie standouts Dwight Howard and Andre Iguodala are just a few of the featured players.
The NBA and Spike TV previously collaborated on “Spike TV’s 52 Greatest Moments in NBA History,” a 2004 special.
Spike TV hopes to give “NBA Rookies” a sneak premiere on June 10, during the NBA Finals.
The show will air at 10 p.m. Monday in Chicago starting June 13.
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Edited by the sports staff of RedEye