By Georg Szalai, The Hollywood Reporter
The winners of the 2025 Summer League Film Festival, co-led by Mark Wahlberg’s Unrealistic Ideas, NBA Hall of Famer Kevin Garnett’s Content King Studios, Deon Taylor’s Hidden Empire Film Group, and VSL Properties, are in.
The SLFF, dedicated to stories produced by NBA stars past and present, put on its second edition in Las Vegas July 17-19, which brought together NBA legends, Hollywood creatives, and fans. Now, it has unveiled honors for several films that organizers say “exemplify the power and impact of sports storytelling.”
The 2025 SLFF featured projects from such NBA players as Luguentz Dort, Nikola Jokić, Udonis Haslem, Dražen Petrović, Jaime Jaquez Jr., Nate Robinson, and Greg Oden, among others. The premiere of Kings of Vegas, about “one of the most dominant, polarizing, and culturally transformative teams in college basketball history,” the UNLV Runnin’ Rebels of the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, capped the event with a reunion of UNLV basketball legends and appearances by Snoop Dogg, Chuck D, and Jimmy Kimmel.
“I’ve always been a big hoops fan, so it’s amazing to see NBA players bring these incredible stories to life,” said Wahlberg.
And Garnett said: “The SLFF is a great opportunity for NBA players who own production companies to share our projects, give each other our flowers, and create chances for those projects to get financed and sold.”
Check out the full SLFF Awards winners below:
Best Documentary Feature
Tony Allen: The Grindfather (dir. Michael Blevins)
Best Narrative Feature
Dražen (dirs. Danilo Serbedzija & Ljubo Zdjelarevic)
Best Documentary Short
Dialing Scottie (prod. Leo Geneser & Issac Weinberg)
Best Narrative Short
Groupies (dir. Corey Grant)
Audience Choice Award
Kings of Vegas (dir. Deon Taylor)
Social Impact Award (co-winners)
A Time to Yell (dir. Eric Newman),
Pros and Cons (dir. Sam Maller)
Game Changer Award (co-winners)
Three Point Revolution (dir. David Feldon),
Hoops of Heritage (dirs. Yinzhi Peter Pan, Kaylee Smith, Minja Zeljkovic)
