Tag Archives: NBA

30Jun/22

Rise is About Family, Love, and Perseverance

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Streaming: Disney Plus

Release Date: June 24, 2022

Actors: Dayo Okeniyi as Charles Antetokounmpo, Yetide Badaki as Veronica “Vera” Antetokounmpo, Uche Agada as Giannis Antetokounmpo, Ral Agada as Athanasios “Thanasis” Antetokounmpo, Elijah Sholanke as Alexandros “Alex” Antetokounmpo, and Jaden Osimuwa as Kostantinos “Kostas” Antetokounmpo

Synopsis: Based on the real-life story about the Antetokounmpo family, the first family to produce a trio of brothers who go on to become NBA champions. It explores their journey as Nigerian immigrants in Greece striving for a better life.

Many of us know about, or at least have heard of, Giannis Antetokounmpo (aka The Greek Freak) from his MVP awards and 2021 championship with the Milwaukee Bucks. For years now, he’s been dominating the NBA. We also know that he was born in Greece to Nigerian parents and has siblings in the NBA. One thing we are not sure about is his upbringing…until now. With the film Rise, audiences and fans can get a glimpse of what it was like for Antetokounmpo growing up. You’ll be surprised to learn what Giannis’ family had to go through…I know I was.

Giannis and his family

We’ve seen it before: the overseas basketball player struggling financially with aspirations to play in the NBA. But Rise has a different narrative; Giannis and his brothers were also trying to avoid deportation while living in Greece. Not ony does this make for a more interesting film with layers, but also provides a better feel for the family’s obstacles. This film brings to light the family’s obstacles and their persistence to make ends meet while also showcasing their optimism. This gave me a better understanding of why Giannis and his brothers are down to earth on the court and on social media. The scenes when the family was almost caught by the authorities and deported back to Nigeria felt incredibly tense. They were barely escaping each time, and so I couldn’t help but cheer for this family’s breakthrough since it was clear they needed it. It elicited an oddly intense response from me, especially for a Disney film. I found this quite impressive. Even during the part of the movie where Giannis was drafted, I couldn’t help but watch with great antcipation!

The direction and videography were very well executed in this film. Historically, it hasn’t been easy capturing the beauty of dark skin on screen, especially when it comes to lighting and angles, but this wasn’t an issue in this film. This is my first time watching a piece directed by Akin Omotoso and I look forward to seeing more of his work.

I have to be honest. When it comes to biopics, sometimes they aren’t the best quality, but I can say that Rise was well done. There was nothing lacking in the acting, especially with Yetide Badaki who played Giannis’ mother and who is Nigerian herself. She was nurturing, protective, and also provided an inspiring presence on screen. Every time I saw her, she reminded me of not only my mother but also other Black mothers I know.

Dayo Okeniyi (as Giannis’ father, Charles) also had a great performance. Portraying a father who’s doing all he can to provide for his family, considering everything they’d overcome, the stress was real and Dayo was able to channel that stress. I can only imagine how it would feel consistently trying to find ways to bring joy to my family while dealing with such difficult circumstances.

The actors portraying Giannis and his brothers added to the great performance of the cast as a whole. Uche Agada was convincing as a newcomer learning how to play the game of basketball at a later age. He provided a believable fish-out-of-water perspective. When the boys were faced with racism as teenagers, it definitely resonated with me because I too have experienced racism at a young age, as I’m sure many other young men of color have.

Giannis with actor Uche Agada

Overall, this film was a well-crafted project for Disney Plus that the entire family can watch and enjoy. It’s a film about family, love, and perseverance. After watching this film, I have a better appreciation for the Antetokounmpo family as a whole and it made me respect the former MVP even more. The writing and acting were compelling, and I hope many people watch this film as it’s a fresh take on a basketball story that happens to be based on true events. Not only am I cheering for the success of this film, but I am also cheering for the success of the Antetokounmpo family.

18Aug/18

West Louisville Little League Baseball Team Saves Lives

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The West Louisville baseball team 2018

No, the West Louisville Little League Baseball team (ages 13 and under) aren’t health care providers but they are providing hope for the youth in the community. Over the years West Louisville, KY has had its issue with homicides and other crimes. This is why it was important for the West Louisville team to make the Little Babe Ruth World Series. Not for just the exposure but for other youth in the community to join an activity that can lead to opportunities and away from the lure of the streets.

With the area being known for the greatness of Muhammad Ali and basketball (notably the University of Louisville Basketball and the University of Kentucky Basketball), it allows the youth in the area to dream outside of playing for the NBA where it has been reported that only 1.2% of college players make it to the league according to the NCAA.

Being a native of the area and former player of the league, I have seen the effects of players being active in the sport and the player that has left it without participation in any other activities. Those players that stop playing baseball, and didn’t find an alternative, were susceptible to the streets. There were a few cases where players lives were taken via gun violence and others who frequented the court system.

I can only wonder if some of the guys would have stayed in baseball, would they have been lured into the situations they were in? More so, if we were like the West Louisville baseball team this year and made the Babe Ruth World Series, would we have brought in more youth into America’s favorite past time, thus creating more opportunities for success and fewer opportunities for the alternative.

1995 Courier-Journal covering the Drew Corson little league baseball tournament.

Back in 1995, my father, Furlin Patterson, put together a baseball tournament that featured teams from around the area like Cincinnati and Tennessee.  It paid tribute to Drew Corson, a young player that died on the basketball court. His family donated funds to the West Louisville baseball league for uniforms. After all of these years, the Corson family must be delighted to see the progress of the West Louisville team and their efforts to bring home a World Series title.

Current LA Lakers guard Rajon Rondo

Some of the notable players from the league that I played with and against were Keenan Burton (Receiver for UK Wildcats/ LA Rams), Michael Bush (Running back for UofL Cardinals/LA Raiders), Rajon Rondo (LA Lakers), and Jamon Brown (LA Rams) who donated money to the West Louisville little league team this year in their World Series Championship pursuit. All of these players became prominent in other sports like basketball and football, but were great baseball players.

Although the West Louisville baseball team was eliminated from the Babe Ruth World Series last week, they still serve as an inspiration to others in the community to participate in positive activities and away from the negative desires of the streets. Maybe one day the West Louisville baseball league can produce a future MLB Hall of Famer or a few MLB all-stars who encourage more youth from the area to get into baseball – achievements that would be more newsworthy and valued than another statistic to gun violence. 

17Jun/16
@AyeshaCurry

We Love you @AyeshaCurry

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With all the unnecessary fuss over the tweet from @AyeshaCurry regarding game six of the 2016 NBA Finals and the general capitalistic nature of entertainment, I feel like we need to show this Black woman some love! In this June tweet, the famous Mrs. Curry defended her husband on social media.

ayesha-curry-deleted-tweet

She has nothing to apologize for. Ayehsa’s name is legendary. And since there are already a dozen stories out there about the tweet, we’re taking this in a totally different direction. Here at @TajiMagazine, we ADORE Ayesha and we want to celebrate her with the rest of the powerful Black women out there. Here is a list of 10 of the greatest songs featuring powerful Black women from the year Ayesha Curry was born: 1989. (They also happen to describe how we feel about her royal Curry-ness).

10. Aretha Franklin: Think

9. Janet Jackson: Rhythm Nation

8. Salt-N-Pepa: Expression

7. Anita Baker: Giving You The Best That I Got

6. Patti Labelle: If You Don’t Know Me By Now

5. Roberta Flack: Oasis

4. Jody Watley: Real Love

3. Soul II Soul: Keep On Movin’

2. Karyn White: Superwoman

1. Janet Jackson: Miss You Much

Of course, we couldn’t close out this list and neglect this classic honorable mention. That’s rigght, you guessed it. Another Bad Creation: “Iesha”

So Ayesha, for the moments when the money hungry machine known as the NBA aint your type of hype or you feel like the media is criticizing every little step you take, we love you!