When BILAL IRVING left his small hometown bound for a basketball career worthy of his athletic gifts, he was sure he would never return. When he's suspended from the Chinese pro basketball league, he finds himself desperate for an opportunity to repair his image, and what could change a 'coach-killer' narrative better than returning home to coach his old high school team? The only problem: his old coach, AVERY SCHMIDT, still holds the reins to the team with an iron fist. It's only after a near-fatal heart attack that Coach Schmidt is forced to accept a co-coach he stubbornly doesn't think he needs. What everyone can agree on is that this ragtag team of high school basketball players desperately needs help from someone. They barely get along, let alone know how to play together, and that's not the only hurdle the team has to overcome. Bilal and Coach Schmidt have some very different opinions on how the team should be run, not to mention a deep emotional rift about their past which has never been resolved. Forced to work together, Bilal and Schmidt have to learn from each other and realize that they both have to grow before they can teach the kids the life lessons they will need to become champions. In the vein of the great sports underdog movies like Hoosiers, Bad News Bears and The Blind Spot, Warrior Strong is a heartwarming story of triumph both on and off the court.
