Rolling Along: Bill Bradley (2024)

Rolling Along: Bill Bradley

Bill Bradley said early on in “Rolling Along” that this is his first time on stage since an eighth-grade play, and after hearing him sing a snippet from the operetta, it’s easy to see why. He wasn’t meant to be a king he was meant to be the king of New York basketball as a Hall of Fame forward for the Knicks. Madison Square Garden is about as big as it gets, but it doesn’t take much imagination to see him comfortable on a much smaller one giving a completely different performance. Try the Signature Theatre in New York for a one-man show that feels less like what you might expect from a Rhodes Scholar than an autobiography about how people affect us rather than vice versa.

There’s no flashiness here; Spike Lee and Frank Oz are executive producers, with “The Last Dance” producer Mike Tollin behind the camera. The only stylistic flourish comes when Bradley recounts his speech on the U.S. Senate floor during his time representing New Jersey in Washington, where he couldn’t hide his anger when the Rodney King verdict came down.

There are a few tasteful clips from Bradley’s playing days scattered throughout fittingly, mostly examples of chemistry with Earl Monroe or Willis Reed or Dave DeBusschere, who became lifelong friends but if fans would approach him on the road, teammates would wonder aloud at airports or coffee shops why Bradley would strike up conversations with strangers just to pass time and feed insatiable curiosity.

Indeed, it feels as if there wouldn’t be enough time for Bradley to properly delve into two incredible careers in 90 minutes, so “Rolling Along” settles for highlighting ordinary moments so extraordinary ones can shine through while he waits for other people to finish telling stories about themselves. Growing up in Crystal City, Mo., where he was raised evangelical Christian, it becomes clear quickly that even then Bradley was always going to be principled even if his physical growth didn’t make it seem likely.

But basketball is where he wound up, and even before he reached the NBA as a star for the Knicks, being profiled in The New Yorker or getting into Duke (a powerhouse even then), only to choose Princeton because conscience called and athletics took a backseat to academics Bradley was always going to love playing.

“Rolling Along” suggests that it wasn’t the competition but the camaraderie that attracted Bradley to pro ball; it offered the chance to travel with guys from different backgrounds and meet people along the way who would shape his thinking about race and religion. It didn’t make him lose faith in God, but it did drive him away from a denomination he watched grow increasingly hostile toward civil rights for all.

When he tells them, to himself Bradley has the same realizations again and again, and only when he does so does he share these stories not very often, but with great care. The awareness begins as early as Little League, when Bradley realized it was wrong that there were restaurants at which his Black teammates wouldn’t be served; it ends, perhaps (so far), with his daughter seeing the world through her eyes while taking care of her as his wife works full time as a tenured professor.

Though there may be a certain professional polish of the former politician in engaging an audience, by then it feels like sharing rather than campaigning: There is no higher office left to run for. Still, after all this time in public life, you suspect “Rolling Along” will do just about as much for those who know Bill Bradley well as it will for those who don’t. And even though he’s up there alone onstage, he’s generous with the spotlight.

The documentary “Rolling Along,” directed by Cynthia Wade and Sasha Friedlander, premieres at the Tribeca Festival on June 17 at noon at AMC 19th St. East and on June 18 at 9 p.m., but one gets the sense that it is not quite finished yet. It will be available to stream on the Tribeca at Home app from June 19 to July 2.

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