Inside the legendary true story of Netflix’s Running Point and the icon it’s based on

This week, Netflix dropped its new 30-minute happy show called Running Point, a comedy series brought to us by the genius Mindy Kaling who you undoubtedly know from projects such as The Office, The Mindy Project, and The Sex Lives of College Girls.

If you told me I’d be engrossed in a sitcom about the basketball industry I’d probably have called you a liar. But it’s good, so good, and now I’m eagerly awaiting season two.

As we wait for confirmation that Netflix hasn’t cancelled ANOTHER new show after greenlighting season two, here’s what we know about the true story it’s somewhat based on.

What is Netflix’s new show about?

Running Point follows reformed party girl Isla Gordon as she is thrust into the spotlight as the person in charge of her family’s pro basketball team. Alongside Kate Hudson, Running Point also stars Brenda Song, Chet Hanks, Drew Tarver, Max Greenfield, Scott MacArthur, Toby Sandeman, and Keyla Monterroso Mejia.

We see the politics, highs, and lows of the professional basketball scene and it’s already got 78 per cent on Rotten Tomatoes. A certified must-watch.

Here’s the true story of Netflix’s Running Point

Basketball fans might be somewhat familiar with the show because it resembles the story of L.A. Lakers president Jeanie Buss, who’s also part of a basketball dynasty. The similarities are intentional as Jeanie and business partner Linda Rambis are executive producers, but Jeanie’s story does differ slightly.

When it comes to similarities the base story is basically the same. Both the character Isla and her real-world counterpart Jeanie were forced to compete in a male-dominated industry following the overwhelming success of their fathers and the sheer lack of belief people had in them.

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“Jeanie is the most capable one, yet she’s overlooked by her loving dad,” a source told Sports Illustrated in 1999.

Small details like Isla posing for Playboy are also inspired by real-world events because Jeanie also did that in 1995.

“I posed for Playboy Magazine at a time in my life when I was 32-years-old and recently divorced. It was a decision that freed me from the expectations of others and allowed me to accept my body and myself exactly as I am,” she said in a throwback Instagram post.

It's official: See you next season.

RUNNING POINT S2 IS COMING pic.twitter.com/NXdtCyG3qQ

— Netflix (@netflix) March 6, 2025

In an interview with Variety, Mindy Kaling said they used Jeanie’s inspiring story as a source of inspiration but of course, took some creative licence because Running Point is a sitcom comedy and not a biopic.

“This is a fictionalized version of Jeanie’s life. She has real-life relationships with people, and we want to protect that by not basing anything on anyone,” she said. “Of course, there’s flourishes that are [real]. She, famously, was in relationships with people that we’re like, ‘Oh, that’s really interesting,’ and we cherry-pick those things. But we want to protect her relationships.”

Featured image credit: Netflix

Running Point season one is available on Netflix now. For all the latest Netflix news, drops, quizzes and memes like The Holy Church of Netflix on Facebook.