The Waiting Game

Michael Husain shows a solid ability in managing conflicting emotions with this basketball documentary, which delivers a warm dose of nostalgia for fans while revealing the chilly reality for many former players.

Back in 1967, the National Basketball Association got some competition from a new kid on the block. The American Basketball Association was a flare player compared to the staid and corporate NBA, introducing everything from mascots to halftime shows. Innovative, right down to the red, white and blue ball, many of the things the ABA introduced would go on to be preserved when it was swallowed up by the NBA just nine years later. As one contributor puts it: “They jet-fuelled the NBA.”

What they did not do, however, was care a great deal for the players that shone in that league. While those who play for the NBA have solid gold pension deals, former ABA players have found themselves struggling to make ends meet, especially in terms of healthcare.

Husain follows their fight for recompense, as their cause becomes championed by not-for-profit organisation Dropping Dimes, led by Bob Costas, a basketball fan and lawyer, in that order. The contracts that were signed as the leagues came together are scrutinised, showing that what the players thought they were getting was not all that it seemed. The director takes a largely workmanlike approach to the material.

There are talking heads and while Husain doesn’t get any points for innovation, he has assembled several notable names, including Emmy-award-winning broadcaster Bob Costas and former players, including Darnell “Dr Dunk” Hillman. The archive material is nicely edited into the bigger picture, especially early on.

Given that the focus has to come down to the wording of a contract, it’s almost inevitable that the pace slows in the second half. A fairly lengthy aside into Tarter’s relationship with his dad, although emphasising what a nice chap he is, also doesn’t add much to the overall scheme of things. Beyond the bureaucracy and lawyering up of the NBA itself, it’s quite depressing to see CJ McCollum - the president of the NBA Players Association - admit that the current stars have very little knowledge about the pioneers who helped get them where they are today.

Premiered at the Heartland International Film Festival, The Waiting Game will inevitably appeal most to fans of the sport but, in a world where there is increasingly an emphasis on getting a ‘good deal’, it comes as a remind a little more humanity would go a long way in big business.