Inspired from Jorge Santiago’s Hoop Dreams in Oaxaca’s Hills, a visual report on assignment for the photojournalism section Lens of New York Times—THE LAST SHOT is a 6-part verite docuseries that follows the lives of American basketball players whose careers have been derailed, begin to resurface competing in rural Mexico who live off the underground cash-prize tournaments.

“Call it the postcolonial era—for the last 80 years, the people who live in the mountainous part of Mexico, in the state of Oaxaca, have been crazy about basketball. Introduced to the region by a president who wanted to unite, or perhaps distract, the various indigenous groups, the sport has taken root and become more popular than soccer. It occupies a physical place of honor, with the courts built on the few flat stretches of any town. Tournaments are held in dozens of villages, timed to the feast days of the town’s patron saint, which adds another dimension to the sport’s significance, with political and religious beliefs coming together. Players form their own teams and travel, village to village by any means necessary searching for the next slot, vying for prize money.”