Shooting Stars

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2:26

Shooting Stars

PG-13

2023

1h 55m

Biography

Drama

Sports

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

54%

Tomatometer

35 Reviews

69%

Popcornmeter

100+ Ratings

Shooting Stars is set in the 1990s, where a young LeBron James (Marquis "Mookie" Cook) and his three best friends -- Lil Dru (Caleb McLaughlin, Stranger Things), Willie McGee (Avery S. Wills, Jr., Swagger) and Sian Cotton (Khalil Everage, Cobra Kai)--declare themselves the "Fab Four," after the famed Michigan Wolverines' "Fab Five" of that era. From the moment we meet them, we realize this group of friends, under the guidance of coach Dru Joyce (Wood Harris; Creed franchise), is connected by more than basketball. So, when the coach at the top basketball school in their district threatens to separate them by putting Lil Dru on junior varsity, the Fab Four decide to switch schools to be able to play varsity together, joining the team at a predominantly white Catholic school instead. The community takes this as an insult, but the boys' dedication to each other is more important than anything else. With their new coach (Dermot Mulroney; August: Osage County), a disgraced former college coach seeking redemption of his own, the boys, along with former rival and new teammate Romeo Travis (newcomer Sterling "Scoot" Henderson), will face battles not only on the court but in real life, in their quest to become national champs, and will rediscover that what matters most about the game is the people playing beside you.

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Critics Consensus

Although Shooting Stars isn't without its engaging moments, this dramatized look back at LeBron James' early years is less entertaining than simply watching him play.

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Samantha Bergeson

IndieWire

Jun 15, 2023

C-

With James’ Springhill Company behind the movie, we only see the sweet friendships, the glory of victory, and of course, James’ iconic celebrity. Too bad a lay-up of a biography isn’t interesting at all.

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Matt Zoller Seitz

RogerEbert.com

Jun 9, 2023

4/4

Every moment and image is so perfectly shaped and presented, and rings so true, that you can imagine the same story being told, beat-for-beat, with a cast of invented characters and being every bit as satisfying.

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Christy Lemire

FilmWeek (LAist)

Jun 6, 2023

Unfortunately, LeBron James is the least interesting part of this LeBron James origin story... But this is a nice, inspiring film.

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Sammie Purcell

Rough Draft Atlanta

Jul 24, 2025

“Shooting Stars” feels like a largely unnecessary addition to the legend, not because it doesn’t add anything new to the story, but because the way it relitigates to us what we already know isn’t visually or narratively compelling.

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Graeme Tuckett

The Post NZ

Jun 14, 2024

3.5/5

Shooting Stars is a mostly low-key and thoughtful portrait. Director Chris Robinson has a deft touch with the on-court scenes and handles the relationships and drama equally well.

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Robert Roten

Laramie Movie Scope

Nov 17, 2023

B

This movie is similar to other sports-centered biographical dramas, but it is different in that LeBron James, and even basketball itself, both are benched in favor of showing how friendship, teamwork and family help people overcome life's challenges.

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Isaac W

@FatrickEwing Feb 10, 2026

I really love this movie, I love how it focuses on the team instead of just LeBron. Even though LeBron has his moments, it also shows how the team really helped LeBron and themselves. The one minor detail that I hate about this movie is the actual game scenes I feel like they should have built more pressure on the team, by introducing the opponents like for example Carmelo Anthony because he was the number 1 overall player in the country. My overall opinion in this movie is that even though that one detail brought the score down it's still an enjoyable movie for sports fans in my opinion.

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Shawn I

@RT68628213 Nov 24, 2025

Was a "decent" movie there were a lot of loose ends not tied up. the biography itself wasn’t even really focused on LeBron, if anything I was more interested in the dru plot line with his dad and feeling below LeBron, the movie was ok all in all it’s a one time watch, forgettable experience.

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Matt H.

@RandommMatt91 Nov 9, 2025

I see this on Netflix and I’m like ok let’s watch it. I like it very much so. It had friendship heart and family in it. It has to do with LeBron James and his buddies from high school and how each of them grew up and became the fab 4/5 in high school. Not all of them made it to NBA but they all played pro ball. It’s not a must watch movie but it’s a good movie to relax and watch if you like sports movies.

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Jerod S

@jeroduptown Mar 19, 2024

Man, this makes Lebron's early high school career look dull. It doesn't capture the thrill of his talent or the tension of the controversy of his suspension.

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Lloyd S

@Lloyd93 Feb 17, 2024

Don't expect something special or inspiring, it's just a biopic of Lebron James childhood.

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Giorgio G

@GioBlob Aug 24, 2023

As lame and boring as 90% of movies about a certain sports star or team. There is nothing interesting about this story, besides, maybe, a few game scenes, but then you can just as easily go to any sport channel and enjoy some great action without the endless teeny talk which fills this movie. 2/10 points

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Chris Robinson

Director

Wood Harris

Dru Joyce

Marquis Mookie Cook

LeBron James

Caleb McLaughlin

Lil Dru

Natalie Paul

Gloria James

Algee Smith

Ilya McGee

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Synopsis

Shooting Stars is set in the 1990s, where a young LeBron James (Marquis "Mookie" Cook) and his three best friends -- Lil Dru (Caleb McLaughlin, Stranger Things), Willie McGee (Avery S. Wills, Jr., Swagger) and Sian Cotton (Khalil Everage, Cobra Kai)--declare themselves the "Fab Four," after the famed Michigan Wolverines' "Fab Five" of that era. From the moment we meet them, we realize this group of friends, under the guidance of coach Dru Joyce (Wood Harris; Creed franchise), is connected by more than basketball. So, when the coach at the top basketball school in their district threatens to separate them by putting Lil Dru on junior varsity, the Fab Four decide to switch schools to be able to play varsity together, joining the team at a predominantly white Catholic school instead. The community takes this as an insult, but the boys' dedication to each other is more important than anything else. With their new coach (Dermot Mulroney; August: Osage County), a disgraced former college coach seeking redemption of his own, the boys, along with former rival and new teammate Romeo Travis (newcomer Sterling "Scoot" Henderson), will face battles not only on the court but in real life, in their quest to become national champs, and will rediscover that what matters most about the game is the people playing beside you.

Director: Chris Robinson
Producer: LeBron James, Maverick Carter, Spencer Beighley, Jamal Henderson, Nonie L. Robinson, Rachel Winter, Terence Winter
Screenwriter: Frank E. Flowers, Tony Rettenmaier, Juel Taylor
Distributor: Peacock
Production Co: Tangerine Pictures, Universal Pictures, Cold Front Productions, SpringHill Entertainment
Rating: PG-13 (Strong Language|Some Suggestive References|Teen Drinking)
Genre: Biography, Drama, Sports
Original Language: English
Release Date (Streaming): Jun 2, 2023
Runtime: 1h 55m

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