Jeremy Pargo is no stranger to the spotlight. Most fans know him for his handles on the court as a captain in Ice Cube’s BIG3 League, but now he’s trading his jersey for a script.
Pargo stars in and co-wrote The Final Play, a romantic comedy directed by Tailiah Breon that explores life after professional basketball. The film is streaming now on Tubi and available on VOD via Amazon, and it’s a story that hits close to home for the pro athlete turned filmmaker.
“I didn’t know it needed to be a film,” Pargo shared in our exclusive interview. “But I know we all have stories to tell. And if they’re told the right way, they can be entertaining, they can teach, and people can learn from them.”
What started with a stack of note cards (inspired by Spike Lee) eventually turned into a full-blown script. “I never liked writing in school,” he said, “but I like to tell stories. That’s what I turned it into.”
The Final Play follows retired pro hooper Breylon McNeil, played by Pargo, as he navigates post-basketball life, emotional healing, and unexpected love.
Inspired by his real experiences, the film is about vulnerability, trust, and learning to let go.
“A lot of people think athletes just want a bunch of women and don’t care about love,” he said. “That’s false. We want someone to walk this path with us. We just don’t always know what that looks like.”
Anyone who makes a film knows that it takes sacrifice. “The most challenging part?” Pargo laughs. “Calling my financial advisor and saying, ‘Hey Stacey, I need X amount of dollars cleared.’ And she’s like, ‘Jeremy, what the f*** you got going on?’” But the investment was worth it, he says. “Getting this story out there, having people like you watch and enjoy it, that means the world to me.”
Pargo also wanted the film to let Black men know it’s okay to be human. “It’s OK to be to be open. It’s OK to be wrong. It’s OK to be right. It’s OK to chase what you want,” Parog shares. “It’s OK to take that step out on that ledge. And whether you think she’s going to follow you or not, it’s OK to take a risk, because without taking risk, you will never accomplish what you want.”
More than a rom-com, The Final Play is about what happens when men allow themselves to feel.
“I think if we can somehow find a fine line between being vulnerable… If you can somehow allow yourself to be who you are,” Pargo said. “And be able to trust a woman within being who you are…I think that can make for better relationships and better conversations going forward and bring about the families that we’ve missed from The Cosby Show to The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air.”
Check out the full interview.
