Naman Shrestha
Based on the 2009 eponymous memoir by Buzz Bissinger and LeBron James, Peacock’s ‘Shooting Stars’ is a biographical sports drama movie. It covers and dramatizes the origin story of the basketball icon LeBron James and his incredible career as a four-time NBA Champion and the all-time leading scorer of the competition. In the 1990s, young LeBron James and his three best friends — Lil Dru, Willie McGee, and Sian Cotton — form the Fab Four after getting inspired by Michigan Wolverines’ “Fab Five.” Connected by more than just basketball, the Fab Four switch schools to play varsity together when a coach threatens to separate them.
Now, under a former college coach named Keith Dambrot, James and his friends must ally with a former rival and new teammate, Romeo Travis. To win the National Championship, they must confront battles on and off the court. Starring Marquis “Mookie” Cook, Caleb McLaughlin, Avery S. Wills Jr., Khalil Everage, Wood Harris, and Dermot Mulroney, the basketball movie unfolds in Akron and Cleveland, where the real LeBron James has spent most of his life. The basketball court scenes where the Fab Four indulge in some scintillating plays with each other, and the restaurant scenes where they hang out make one wonder where ‘Shooting Stars’ was actually filmed.
Shooting Stars Filming Locations
‘Shooting Stars’ was filmed entirely in Ohio, particularly in Akron and Cuyahoga County. According to reports, the principal photography for the LeBron James biopic commenced in April 2022 and wrapped up in June of the same year. So, without further ado, let us walk you through all the specific locations where the Fab Four leaves their mark in the drama movie!
Akron, Ohio
The city of Akron not only served as a prominent production location for ‘Shooting Stars’ but also just as much a character as any of the cast members due to its significance in the life of LeBron James. The actual apartment where James grew up, Spring Hills Apartments at 1221 Everton Drive, was used to lens several pivotal sequences. While some high school scenes in the sports movie were lensed in St. Vincent-St. Mary High School at 15 North Maple Street, a few basketball court scenes were taped in the James A. Rhodes Arena in the University of Akron at 373 Carroll Street.
To make the narrative all the more authentic, the filming unit utilized the premise of Swensons Drive-Ins at 40 South Hawkins Avenue in Akron, where the real Fab Four used to hang out most of the time back in the early 2000s. Some key exterior sequences were also recorded in and around Elizabeth Park at 40 East Lods Street, the neighborhood of Kenmore, and seemingly in John R. Buchtel Community Learning Center at 1040 Copley Road.
Cuyahoga County, Ohio
For shooting purposes, the production team of ‘Shooting Stars’ also traveled to Cuyahoga County and set up camp in different locations. For instance, the cities of Cleveland and Cleveland Heights served as a couple of significant filming sites for the movie. A few important basketball scenes were reportedly lensed at Case Western Reserve University at Wade Commons at 11451 Juniper Road and Wolstein Center at Cleveland State University at 2000 Prospect Avenue East, both in Cleveland. In addition, the locales of the cities of Beachwood, Shaker Heights, and Garfield Heights feature in the biopic.
Read More: Is Shooting Stars Based on a True Story?
