In “King James,” a passion for basketball forges a bond between two men

Rajiv Joseph, a 2010 Pulitzer Prize finalist for his Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo, and whose latest play Dakar 2000 has just closed after a successful run at the Manhattan Theatre Club in New York, is now having his 2022 play King James brought to life by the George Street Playhouse. This latest play is a taut two-hander skillfully directed by Ryan George.

King James centers on the relationship forged between two men, basketball fans each deeply loyal to their home team, the Cleveland Cavaliers. It starts in 2004, where Matt (Doug Harris), struggling owner of a wine bar, is looking to sell his season tickets to the Cavaliers games. Shawn (Blake Morris) is looking to buy those tickets — but not at the price Matt is asking.

Matt’s need for ready cash to keep his bar afloat keeps him negotiating. In the process they reveal what the Cavaliers mean to them and what wunderkind player LeBron James, just recruited to the Cavs, means for their beloved team.

The play jumps ahead in time, following the fortunes of Matt and Shawn as set against a timeline of James’ career. In 2010, LeBron decides to leave Cleveland for the Miami Heat after earning multiple awards and leading Cleveland to its first NBA Finals. The decision leaves Cleveland fans feeling betrayed. At the same time, Shawn, following his career dreams, leaves Cleveland for Los Angeles, shattering his friendship with Matt. In 2014, LeBron returns to Cleveland to a joyous reception by Cleveland fans, including Shawn, who now works at Matt’s parents’ store — but not Matt, now a budding merchandiser, who chooses to remember the betrayal and cannot believe that Clevelanders are so willing to forget the hurt they felt at LeBron’s departure.

Shawn’s close relationship with Matt’s parents, closer than their relationship to Matt, plus a vestige of racism on Matt’s part cause a greater rift between the two friends. The play comes to an end in 2016, amid more reversals of fortune for Matt and Shawn, but with hope of reconciliation as they are forced to realize just how much their friendship has meant over the years.

George Street’s production boasts a marvelous set design by Frank J. Oliva, depicting Matt’s wine bar in the first act and Matt’s parents’ store, a hodgepodge of antiques, curiosities, and just plain junk, in the second act. It fills the stage, and its attention to detail adds immensely but not obtrusively to the realism of the play. The videos designed by Douglas Sharf help move us along the timeline, covering a dozen years in LeBron’s career and giving some context to the emotional reactions of Matt and Shawn during the course of the play.

King James is a very good character study about friendship between men, especially those forged through a shared love of sports. It just misses being a great play, but that should not preclude anyone from enjoying this production from its first price-haggling moment to its final freeze-frame image. I suggest that, before its limited run comes to an end, you spend some time at the court of King James!

King James is presented by the George Street Playhouse at the Arthur Laurents Theatre in the New Brunswick Performing Arts Center through Apr. 6, 2025. For more information or to purchase tickets, go to georgestreetplayhouse.org.