Last Shot is a sports drama that follows a basketball prodigy (Dylan Friedman) who stays with his absentee mother (Jamie Pressly) after losing his father. The film releases in theaters on October 2 and also stars Baron Davis and Michael Rapaport.

Perseverance is one of the film’s central themes, and it’s something that Pressly has connected with throughout her career.

“I’ve been in this business 30 years,” Pressly tells Nerd Reactor during the Last Shot red carpet premiere in Los Angeles. “If anybody knows what perseverance is, it’s me. It takes a lot. You go through a lot of ups and downs, as Caden does, as my character Lexi does in this film. But perseverance is not giving up. Obviously, in the end, they both went out, and everything works out. But you have to go through the tough stuff to get through the good stuff.”

In the film, Caden also learns the importance of always shooting your shot to achieve your goals. Davis, who plays his coach and is a former Golden State Warriors player, was asked about his biggest “shoot your shot” moment.

“I would say my kids,” Davis says. “Every day you wake up, and you go to sleep, and you have an opportunity to impress them. I would say my greatest shot was making kids.”

Friedman portrays Caden, a young and gifted basketball player who moves to a new school and has to adapt to his new environment. For the actor, the film’s title represents getting another chance.

“Last shot means like, you messed up, it’s a second chance, and you use it to its fullest ability,” Friedman said. “And you did what you were supposed to do when you came back, and that just makes me feel good about myself because it also was with Caden. He messed up, he came back, and he conquered what he needed to do. It’s just a great message.”

Another message in Last Shot is the importance of teamwork. Cameron Gayden, who plays Alex Suarez, knows a thing or two about teamwork since he plays baseball in real life.
“Teamwork means everything to me, honestly,” the actor said. “So many great things about everything in my life involve teamwork.”

The film is written by Todd Friedman and directed by Andy Palmer.

It also stars Laraine Newman, Johnny Simmons, and Anthony B. Jenkins.