Upamanyu Biswas
When a Native American high school basketball team named Chuska Warriors loses its star player, the players and coaches unite like never before to win the state championship in Netflix’s sports drama ‘Rez Ball.’ While the players’ struggles mainly stem from their inability to work together as a unit, they eventually land upon their unique playstyle, which has deep connections with their Indigenous culture and the title of the movie. The phrase “Rez Ball” is highly personal to the filmmaker Sydney Freeland since it was a significant part of her childhood, which explains why it is her film’s title! SPOILERS AHEAD.
Rez Ball is a Native American Basketball Playstyle
‘Rez Ball’ is a high school sports movie that centers on Native American culture. The narrative dives into the notion of “Rez Ball,” a colloquial phrase for “reservation basketball,” a style of basketball that is inherently associated with Native American people, particularly at the high school level. The type of play is tempo-dependent and revolves around playing fast by winning the ball back and turning it into rapid transitions on the court, mostly ending with quick shots. In the movie, the Chuska Warriors’ coach, Heather Hobbs, continually reminds her team of their adherence to this style.
For director Sydney Freeland, who played “Rez Ball” while growing up in the Navajo Nation, and her co-writer Sterlin Harjo, adopting the lightning-quick playstyle was a way to illustrate their focus on the game of basketball through an Indigenous lens. “You have these small arenas, but they’re just packed with people. Where we were, we don’t have professional teams. We don’t have college teams. A lot of that falls on high school, where a lot of these Native teams have had the most success is the high school level,” Freeland told Netflix. The reality is not much different than what the film portrays. The idea of reservation basketball was developed by Native Americans as a way to connect with their cultural identity and overcome the challenges they faced on the reservation.
The Importance of Basketball in the Reservations
In one scene in the film, Heather Hobbs conducts a practice match between the boys’ and girls’ teams, only for the latter to showcase the fundamentals of the reservation basketball playstyle. The team not only has to adapt to one another but also learn to play as a team, fighting for the same objective. It is a seminal moment within the story and illustrates the difference in teamwork between the two groups. As long as the unity is threatened, so is their cohesion on the court and ability to play the transition style they aim for. However, throughout the narrative, the Chuska Warriors learn to put aside their differences and become formidable, especially when the state championship comes around.
It is also worth noting that the movie’s title, ‘Rez Ball,’ is also an allusion to the areas where the game of basketball is societally and culturally relevant, especially in the context of Native American communities. States like New Mexico, where the movie is set, place considerable importance on basketball at the school level, and it is one of the most popular sports played on the many reservations around the southern parts of the country. Often, state-level competitions can be built around the “Rez Ball” playstyle, which is all about taking quick shots and embracing the freedom it brings to the game. In a movie where identity is deeply woven into the story’s thematic elements, the notion of “Rez Ball” offers a specific viewpoint into Indigenous culture through a widely popular sport played in multiple ways.
Read More: Netflix’s Rez Ball: All Filming Locations Explored
