There’s a reason why LeBron James is considered one of the greatest basketball players in the history of the NBA, and likewise there is a reason why a play that sports his name is also currently one of the most produced plays in North America.

But King James, the version being put on by Alberta Theatre Projects (ATP) as part of their 2024–25 season, is a story that is tied so closely to the man himself.

It’s a play that in many ways has nothing to do with basketball.

King Kames is a story about friendship—and very specifically male friendship—that is formed around the career of James as he rises to superstardom, leaves fans feeling betrayed after he leaves the Cleveland Cavaliers, returns to the Cavs, and eventually leads the team to an NBA championship.

Director Haysim Kadri, who is also ATP’s Artistic Director, said that audiences would find a slam-dunk metaphor for the lives of the characters Shawn and Matt, played by National Theatre School of Canada veterans Michael Blake (Beauty and the Beast at Theatre Aquarius) and Devin MacKinnon (A Chistmas Carol at Theatre Calgary).

“The idea of basketball is just a metaphor and a touch point for these characters’ lives,” said Kadri.

“LeBron James is on the front cover. The play is called King James, but truly, it’s not a prerequisite for you to know anything about basketball, because it’s about a story about two friends… and ultimately, how they move through space and time, and how their friendship changes based on different things that happen in their lives.”

He said that the Pulitzer Prize finalist author of King James, Rajiv Joseph, had created a beautiful palette to work with in his writing—and that meant that Blake and MacKinnon had a lot to explore in the themes of friendship, betrayal, and how passions define their characters as people.

So much so, that even as Joseph was writing his initial drafts for King James—which premiered in 2022—he wrote down the basketball aspects and upped the character drama.

Male friendship through the lens of sport

That was something that MacKinnon said drew him to want to take on the role of Matt.

“It’s really an examination of male friendships and about how a lot of men kind of talk around their feelings through the lens of sports, which is a really interesting take. I think that’s why the play is so popular. It’s actually the most widely produced play in America right now,” he said.

“I identified with a lot of aspects of Matt. He’s an only child like myself. He’s a big basketball fan like myself, and he’s also a bartender, which I also do part time. So, there were certain things when I first read the script where it’s like, I know this guy, and then there were also a lot of challenging things about Matt.”

He said that those differences were a lot of fun to dive into as an actor, and ended up extending his range as he worked through the play with Blake.

“One of the great things about that, about being on stage with each other the entire play, is that you really have each other to lean on. Once the train leaves the station at the beginning of the show, it’s just the two of you on that ride,” MacKinnon said.

“It really does kind of feel like we’re out there playing a game just the two of us for two straight hours. It’s actually both a very exhausting experience, but also very rewarding.”

An urge to reconnect

Kadri said that coming out of the pandemic, it’s become a sort of bizarre time where people now more than ever rely on community. Choosing it as part of Alberta Theatre Projects’ 50th season was a direct result of that theme, and something that has run through a number of the company’s performances in 2024–25.

“One character has a sense of community, or the character is a little self-absorbed, and how does each character influence to help bridge that gap? So, those are the kinds of things that I look at in plays, and what’s happening outside this theatre and outside these walls, how that reflects with the storytelling that we do on stage,” Kadri said.

MacKinnon said that connection that theatre can make between audience members and characters, especially in light of current events, is the magic of the theatre.

“I’m not sure what was going through Rajiv Joseph, the playwright’s mind while he was writing it. But as circumstances in the world change, plays can take on new meaning and speak to the times that we live in, sometimes in unexpected ways,” he said.

The big takeaway from an evening at King James, was that MacKinnon hoped audience members would feel the need to reconnect with lost friends.

“Anybody—basketball fan or not, young, old, anything in between—it doesn’t matter if you have friends in your life. My hope is that by watching this show you will think about those friends, and maybe it’ll inspire people to nurture some of the friendships that they’ve let go by the wayside over the years,” MacKinnon said.

King James runs until March 16 at the Martha Cohen Theatre. Tickets are on sale at albertatheatreprojects.com/whats-on/2024-25/king-james.