I paid to see this dog in an actual movie theater...I can't imagine how boring my life must have been then to not have any better alternative--say, root canal work on four teeth at once without Novocaine.
Julius was my hoops hero at the time (still is in some ways), and I was major-league embarrassed for him.
The premise is ridiculous, and the movie takes itself so seriously it just strains all credulity. If it were a little bit more "camp" in style, it might be funny to watch 20 years later, but it just doesn't get how ludicrous it is. Even the hoops highlights are mediocre.
We called it, "The fish that ate our $3.50 (which was movie admission at the time!)."