Arthur Agee and William Gates never fulfilled their dream of making the NBA, but the subjects of the groundbreaking 1994 doc ended up making more of an impact than many who did
America has long obsessed over celebrity and the quest for fame. Thirty years ago, millions of moviegoers got to see that desire up close thanks to the groundbreaking documentary Hoop Dreams, which focused on two teenage basketball players, Arthur Agee and William Gates. The pair never fulfilled their dream of making the NBA, but Agee and Gates ended up making more of an impact than many who did.
“I always wish that we would have made it,” Gates tells the Guardian. “That feeling will never go away. I wish we would have achieved the ultimate hoop dream.”