Raymond Lewis: L.A. Legend

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Raymond Lewis: L.A. Legend

2022

1h 22m

Documentary

Biography

Sports

History

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

100%

Tomatometer

10 Reviews

82%

Popcornmeter

Fewer than 50 Ratings

RAYMOND LEWIS: L.A. LEGEND is a critically acclaimed documentary that tells the incredible story of a basketball phenom from Watts, California whom many believe was blackballed from the NBA in the '70s -- and his unlikely and heartbreaking journey in becoming a hoops legend.

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Noel Murray

Los Angeles Times

Nov 4, 2022

This is a tumultuous and ultimately tragic tale about the exploitation of athletes.

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Roger Catlin

rogercatlin.com

Feb 10, 2023

Polomski’s direction is almost as fast moving as Lewis himself; the story fairly flies along, unveiling its surprising facts as it goes along, unfolding revelation after revelation especially to those who may not recall the tale.

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Bob Bloom

Journal and Courier (Lafayette, IN)

Jan 28, 2023

3/4

The movie, directed by Ryan Polomski and co-directed by Dean Prator, details how institutions — be it Cal State L.A. or the 76ers — take advantage of young athletes, especially those from poor backgrounds.

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Christopher Lloyd

The Film Yap

Jan 27, 2023

4/5

This up-tempo doc looks at the tragic tale of one of the greatest ballers never to play in an NBA game.

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Lapacazo Magrira Sandoval

New York Amsterdam News

Jan 27, 2023

A documentary that beautifully presented the 1970s Southern California basketball scene.

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Evan Dossey

Midwest Film Journal

Jan 20, 2023

Part celebration of a legend, part cautionary tale about a system built to exploit talent rather than nurture it.

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tom j

@TommyJ69 Oct 25, 2025

Amazing and existentially frustrating story about one of the greats. My only beef with the documentary was that it did little to hold Gene Shue, Bob Miller and Pat Williams accountable for their roles in denying Lewis his due.

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Ryan Polomski

Director

Raymond Lewis

Self

Kamilah Lewis

Self

Jerry Tarkanian

Self

Michael Cooper

Self

Sonny Vaccaro

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Synopsis

RAYMOND LEWIS: L.A. LEGEND is a critically acclaimed documentary that tells the incredible story of a basketball phenom from Watts, California whom many believe was blackballed from the NBA in the '70s -- and his unlikely and heartbreaking journey in becoming a hoops legend.

Director: Ryan Polomski
Producer: Kamilah Lewis, Ryan Polomski, Dean Prator, Anthony Samad, Renard Young
Distributor: Beach City Media
Production Co: Retro Bros Productions, Beach City Media
Genre: Documentary, Biography, Sports, History
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Oct 27, 2022, Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Nov 1, 2022
Runtime: 1h 22m

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