Lately, Adam Sandler has been diverging from his familiar terrain of comedies and has been
taking more serious, dramatic roles.
One such endeavor of his is Netflix’s ‘Hustle’.
In this film, he plays the role of a talent scout who finds his redemption arc in a young
basketball player living in destitution.
In their bid to accomplish their dreams, both Bo and Stan have to pass through hell and
high water.
With every new problem in their path, the chances of them winning seem to get slimmer.
The ending, however, changes everything.
Here’s what that little twist, in the end, means for Stan and his Spanish protege.
Stanley Sugerman spends the majority of his time away from his family in 5-star hotels.
He travels the globe in search of new basketball talent to bring back to Philadelphia.
But he's had enough of this routine.
When his boss, Rex Merrick, offers him the position of assistant coach, he gladly accepts.
Rex's untimely death, on the other hand, sends him back to square one.
Stan is asked to return as a scout by the new boss, but when he expresses his desire
to be an AC, he is offered the position.
He can look forward to working as a coach if he goes scouting and brings back an exceptional
player for the team.
It appears to be an impossible task at first, but Stan's luck changes when he meets Bo Cruz,
a young and unpolished talent with enormous potential.
His bosses, on the other hand, disagree with his decision to bring Bo home.
Stan decides to give it his all to train Bo and get him into the NBA, knowing that this
is the only chance he and Bo have.
However, it appears that Bo Cruz will have another opportunity to impress NBA coaches,
general managers, and owners.
The Hustle movie ending gives both Bo and Stanley a career boost after one final game
against established NBA stars in which Bo proved he could play with the best players
in the world.
Bo Cruz Is Drafted By The Boston Celtics (But How?)
One of the major revelations in the Hustle movie's conclusion is that Bo Cruz was drafted
by the Boston Celtics after his outstanding final performance.
This is set up because Brad Stevens, the then-head coach of the Boston Celtics and now the head
of basketball operations, attends the scrimmage and likes what he sees.
With the rest of his teammates, Bo Cruz takes part in a shootaround.
The most obvious takeaway is that Bo has realized his NBA ambitions and will join Larry Bird's
old Celtics team.
The way Hustle ends, however, raises some questions about the Celtics' decision to draft
him.
This is due to the fact that the film portrays Bo Cruz as one of the best prospects in the
draft, despite the fact that the real-life Celtics have never had a high first-round
pick.
It's difficult to predict how the Boston Celtics will select Bo Cruz.
While Hustle includes a number of real NBA players, it is set in a fictional world in
which Juancho Hernández and others are not real players.
The film's conclusion does, however, take place in some version of the 2021-2022 NBA
season, as the Celtics are led by Ime Udoka and Al Horford is back on the team.
This only adds to the strangeness of the Boston Celtics drafting Bo Cruz, given that the real-life
Celtics traded their 2021 first-round pick (number 16 overall) for Al Horford.
Brad Stevens and the Celtics appear to have pulled off a crazy trade to get an early first-round
draft pick.
Because neither Jaylen Brown nor Marcus Smart appear in the final scene of Hustle, it's
possible that one or both of them were traded in this reality in order to pair Bo Cruz with
Jayson Tatum.
Stanley Sugerman Becomes A Philadelphia 76ers Assistant Coach
Hustle's ending also gives Stanley Sugerman his big break, just as Bo Cruz achieves his
dream of playing in the NBA.
His days as a scout for the Philadelphia 76ers have come to an end, as he has been promoted
to assistant coach under Doc Rivers.
This occurs after Kat Merrick (SNL's Heidi Garnder) wrests control of the company from
her brother Vince (Ben Foster), whom Stanley had previously become enraged with and insulted
as he resigned.
It is the culmination of Stanley's ten-year journey to become an NBA coach.
The ending of Hustle doesn't give him an official title for his duties as an assistant coach,
but working with young players after helping Bo Cruz improve his game makes sense.
The Meaning Of Bo Cruz's Tree Tattoo Explained.
Bo Cruz has a new tattoo on his left arm that is quite significant when he and Stanley Sugerman
reunite on the Philadelphia 76ers' home court before tipoff against the Boston Celtics.
Bo has a tree tattoo with the phrase "Never back down" written above it.
This tattoo design has three significant points, each of which has a special meaning for Bo
and his journey.
The tree symbolizes his strength and his role in providing for his family.
It's a reference to Bo's mother referring to him as her roble, which is Spanish for
"strong oak tree."
The phrase "Never back down" becomes important to Bo throughout the training process because
the tree represents his family.
Stanley tells him this phrase over and over to teach him resilience and to never give
up even when the odds are stacked against him.
The placement of Bo Cruz's tree tattoo is, without a doubt, the most significant.
Stanley's daughter asks Bo about his tattoos, which cover the majority of his right arm
and most of his chest and all in some way represent Bo's mother and daughter, earlier
in Hustle.
His left arm, on the other hand, is completely bare, and he says the non-existent tattoos
are for his father, who abandoned the family.
The decision to reveal Bo's tree tattoo on his left arm as Hustle comes to a close serves
as a final reminder of Stanley and Bo's father-son relationship.
What Happened To Stanley's Hand?
Full Injury History.
Because the injury is part of Adam Sandler's character from the start, what happened to
Stanley's hand remains a mystery for the majority of Hustle.
He only gives Bo a small hint that it was all part of a freak car accident at first,
but the movie eventually reveals the whole story.
Stanley and Leon Rich were driving somewhere together when they were both in college, and
Stanley was behind the wheel.
At one point, he looked down at the radio and noticed that they were heading straight
for a telephone pole when he looked up.
To protect Leon, Stanley extended his hand in front of him, but this resulted in permanent
damage to his left hand.
Stanley's basketball career was cut short as a result of the damage, and he also spent
six months in jail as a result of the accident.
Where Did Kermit Wilks Get Drafted?
Bo Cruz meets fellow draft prospect Kermit Wilks, played by real NBA star Anthony Edwards,
several times throughout his journey in Hustle.
He believes he should be the first overall pick and is considered one of the best players
in the draft class.
Over the course of Hustle, Kermit Wilks' workouts and on-court performance speak for themselves,
implying that he should have been drafted very high in this world if Bo getting the
better of him in the final scrimmage did not hurt his stock too much.
Kermit Wilks' career would make sense if it followed Anthony Edwards', but that does not
mean he would play for the Minnesota Timberwolves.
In reality, the Timberwolves' 2021 NBA Draft pick was lost because it did not land in the
top three.
Kermit Wilks could have been drafted by the Detroit Pistons, Houston Rockets, or Cleveland
Cavaliers if they were no longer in the running.
The tricky part, of course, is that in Hustle's universe, the Minnesota Timberwolves would
not have Anthony Edwards, so it's impossible to say what would have happened if they had
taken LaMelo Ball or James Wiseman with the first pick in the previous draft.
Was The Philadelphia 76ers' Draft Choice Hass A Bust?
There's also no clear answer as to what happened to Hass (Moe Wagner), an international prospect
selected by the Philadelphia 76ers ahead of the 2020-2021 NBA season, despite Stanley's
reservations about his abilities.
Hustle focuses on Hass' rookie season in the NBA, with the majority of the footage depicting
him struggling in practice.
However, it appears that he could have been a huge bust for the Philadelphia 76ers.
Hass does not appear to be a member of the 76ers' team for the start of the next season,
with Kat even mentioning Vince's previous management style.
He was the one who pushed for Hass to join the team so that he could leave a year later.