Title: Inside the Raptors’ making of The Bubble: An Open Gym Documentary
Date: December 9, 2020
Original Source: The Athletic
Synopsis: In my latest for The Athletic Toronto, I went inside the process of making an Open Gym documentary about the Raptors’ bubble experience.
A drone is flying in near lock-step above a black bus as the bus pulls into the Ritz Carleton hotel in Naples, Fla. The shot is interspersed with clips of Toronto Raptors players and staff preparing to move from one bubbled location to another in advance of the NBA’s relaunch. The Raptors, displaced to Florida ahead of other teams, are almost uniformly adorned in team shirts with “Black Lives Matter” written across their chest.
It’s July 9, exactly four months since the Raptors’ most recent game, and this window into the inner workings of the team seem as intimate as any other episode of Open Gym. The beloved documentary series dates back to 2012, taking Raptors fans deep inside the team in a way few other shows — or teams — have offered. Viewers have been spoiled to the extent that they have come to expect incredible access such as idle chatter between teammates cut with exclusive one-on-one interviews.
Blake Murphy Sports Writing 