Running Point showrunner David Stassen has been a lifelong basketball fan. A formative memory for the Chicago native was watching his hometown Bulls defeat the Los Angeles Lakers in the 1991 NBA Finals. 

At the time, Stassen could not have imagined that decades later, he would be the driving force behind a series inspired by Lakers controlling owner Jeanie Buss or blend his two earliest loves, basketball and comedy, into a Netflix show.

That unlikely dream became reality with Running Point’ a Kate Hudson-led series now streaming all ten episodes on Netflix.

 Bringing Jeanie Buss’ Story to the Screen

In 2021, fresh off becoming the first female controlling owner to win an NBA Championship, Buss approached Mindy Kaling to bring her unique experiences in a male-dominated industry to television. Kaling initially led the development, but when the project faced challenges, she turned to two of her closest creative collaborators from The Mindy Project—Stassen and Ike Barinholtz. The duo, who have been best friends since childhood in Chicago, eagerly took on the challenge.

Buss and her longtime Lakers colleague Linda Rambis welcomed the creative team into the Lakers’ world, offering insights into the franchise’s operations and personal anecdotes. The show’s development coincided with the release of HBO’s controversial series Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty. The series has received backlash from Lakers legends like Magic Johnson and Jerry West for dramatizing actual events. 

In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Stassen shared, “Jeanie is such an even-keeled person. When Winning Time would come up, she would just be like, ‘I like it. I think it’s good.’” He further added, “I know there were certain members of that era who weren’t happy with their portrayal, but Jeanie never expressed anything about Winning Time other than her thinking it was a good show.”

A Fictional Lens With Real-Life Parallels

Instead of directly portraying the Lakers, Running Point tells its story through a fictional team, the Los Angeles Waves, and the Gordon family. While the decision helped avoid conflicts with real-life figures, the series still includes notable parallels to Buss’ life.

For example, Hudson’s character, Isla Gordon, shares a personal backstory that mirrors Buss’ journey, and a subplot involving the discovery of a long-lost half-brother reflects the Buss family’s experience in 2018.

“That’s another one of the reasons we pushed to keep it a fictional team. We just wanted to have free rein to tell a funny workplace comedy that’s loosely based on Jeanie Buss,” Stassen explained. “We did not want to do the Ryan Murphy or Adam McKay version of dramatizing real events.”

Channeling Michael Jordan’s Iconic Commercial

Stassen shaped the narrative, directed the final two episodes, and co-wrote three others. One of his biggest challenges was depicting professional basketball action within the constraints of a half-hour comedy budget.

To solve this, he took inspiration from the 1996 Frozen Moment commercial, directed by Jonathan Glazer and featuring Michael Jordan. The ad’s lighting techniques, keeping the court illuminated while shrouding fans in darkness, allowed Stassen to reduce visual effects costs and maintain authenticity.

“I thought of that commercial to limit the VFX cost, because the court is so lit up but the fans are all in darkness,” Stassen said. “The darkness helped us because we didn’t have to design detailed people way up in the rafters.”

A Unique Blend of Sports and Comedy

By merging basketball culture with workplace comedy, Running Point provides a fresh take on sports ownership, leadership, and personal ambition. With Buss’ firsthand experiences, Kaling’s comedic instincts, and Stassen’s creative vision, the series offers a compelling behind-the-scenes look at what it takes to run a professional basketball team, fictional or not.

Now streaming on Netflix, Running Point is both a tribute to the sports world and a reminder that sometimes, the most unexpected dreams come true.