Luc Longley didn't want to make another sports documentary.
Since returning from a self-imposed basketball exile in 2021, sparked in part by being left off the Chicago Bulls' iconic Netflix series 'The Last Dance', the Australian legend has quickly built up his media resume; he was featured in a two-part Australian Story for the ABC, was the subject of NBA Australia's 'Luc Longley | Foundations', and used his return to the Windy City for an induction into the Bulls Ring of Honour to film 'A Love Letter to Chicago'.
But with Longley's patience for sports media wearing thin, director Sam Tolhurst knew that to get him involved in another project, it would have to be something with real meaning.
That meaning, as it turned out, came in the form of Tolhurst and his crew in a jam-packed KIA Carnival, driving to one of the most remote places of Western Australia to visit Longley at his beachfront property, along with a special guest - Andrew Bogut.
"I actually pitched the idea of telling Bogues' story to him about a year ago, and we went back and forth, and I did a fair bit of research on his story, and he ultimately decided it wasn't the right time. It came back around again this year, and Luc pitched it to him, and he was all in on it," Tolhurst told Sporting News Australia.
The result of this pitch is 'Lane Violation', a 50-minute insight into the career of Australia's first-ever number one NBA Draft pick, narrated and hosted by the country's first-ever NBA Champion, produced by Total Sports Entertainment (TSE) and presented by Hahn.
It comes in what has been a busy few months for the 2015 champion, with Bogut recently announced as a new assistant coach under Brian Goorjian at the Sydney Kings, the NBL team that he holds partial ownership of, and that he won MVP for in 2019.
"The first question that we asked ourselves sitting in the writing room, 'Why is this the right time to make an Andrew Bogut documentary?'" Tolhurst said.
"I think it's right for a number of reasons. I think enough time has passed that there's a new generation of hoopers and basketball fans coming through that don't necessarily understand what he accomplished at the end of his career. But then there's certainly people a little bit younger than myself that didn't realise the college career that he had, the impact that he had, winning basically every major award in his sophomore season at Utah, and then being drafted number one, making All-Rookie First team, being the first Aussie to ever do that.
"I think we're at risk of losing a bit of memory of that generation, I think it's important to document it. It just felt like the right time, especially since he was being inducted into the FIBA Hall of Fame and just being ordained by Luc as the assistant coach of the Sydney King. There are a lot of storylines that were crescendoing and reaching the peak of their, I guess, importance. It feels like a perfect time."
As the movie portrays, the history between Longley and Bogut is long and winding, and not all positive, with an incident between the pair in 2005 before Bogut's draft providing the early structure of the film.
(Sam Tolhurst)
The pair have come a long way from those early comments, which saw Bogut claim to be miles ahead of Longley, while the veteran claimed the soon-to-be rookie was childish and inexperienced.
Sitting across a table in Longley's house, with over two decades of NBA, NBL, Olympic and World Cup experience between them, it's clear to see that the relationship has blossomed into a genuine friendship - though not without a subtle hint of competitiveness.
"The pre-draft comments are long in the rearview mirror for the both of them, but I think it's nice to be able to use that as a device because it is a pretty, first of all, ballsy thing to say about a three-time NBA champion who is not that much older than you in theory," Tolhurst said.
"Then anyone who knows Bogues on any level wouldn't be surprised by the comments, but Luc, for good reason, probably took exception to them at the time. Obviously, over time, they've worked together with the national team, and Luc extended the olive branch and said to Bogues, 'Hey, we're two of two, there's no one else that's gone and kicked ass [in the NBA]', and now, obviously, they're friends, they have a wonderful friendship.
"I mean, we've got arguably two of Australia's best ever NBA players, and that's a direct quote from people outside of me, it's not my own bias. The star power, I think, is more than anything I've ever worked with. With that came pressure, but Luc and Bogues found a way to make it easy while still being holding me accountable."
Their friendship is intimately captured by Tolhurst throughout Lane Violation, heartfelt conversations about dealing with injuries, college struggles and media issues broken up by clips of the two seven-footers arguing about championship rings, or straight-up fake wrestling.
(Sam Tolhurst)
The director, who has worked with Longley on previous projects for NBA Australia and is also the Sydney Kings' Lead Videographer, had just over two months to complete the project, one he says would not have been possible without the work of an All-Star crew.
"We knew we had a very short timeline to complete it. Essentially, we assembled this crack team of filmmakers and producers and creatives. Every single person that we could have possibly had work on the project elevated and stepped up. I think the final product is testament to everyone's dedication to getting it done," Tolhurst said.
"There was no part of this project that was hard, apart from the expedited timeline. I think that's testament to the relationships that both Luc and Bogues share with the people that we worked with on this.
"We flew in on a whim, shot everything. There was nothing about any of filming this that was hard."
The result of this effort is much more than just a regular sports documentary. It's a testament to the strength of Australian basketball, it's long overdue credit to two of the country's trailblazers, and more than anything, it is a celebration of Luc Longley and Andrew Bogut, the people even more than the basketball players.
Lane Violation premieres on ESPN Wednesday, June 11th, airing at 8 p.m. AEST.