Pappas lives in Los Angeles and made several trips to the East Coast during the five years. He helped capture some never-before-seen moments, and through that time developed a relationship with Barkley.
"SAQUON" shows Barkley's unique perspective in real time and gives fans a chance to see what one of the game's best players is like off the field.
"He does say the right things, as do most of these professional athletes, but he's genuine as he does it," Pappas said. "But I do think, peel back the curtains, and you kind of do see him as a nuanced person for the first time, really. ... I don't think the public has ever really seen him as a vulnerable human being at this level.
"I think they're going to appreciate him even more for the human being that he actually is, and not just this famous person that they don't really know. I'm hoping by the end of the film, people will know him as well as I do."
Once the team decided now was the time to release the film, it needed to be put together.
LVI Entertainment, which helped produce the documentary, first partnered with NFL Films to put everything together and then reached an agreement with Amazon. Furman said she received all the footage around Memorial Day and had to help piece everything together. As the documentary began to take shape, film icon Martin Scorsese served as a high-level producer, providing his thoughts.
For Barkley, he said the entire process of the documentary helped him reflect on decisions he made. He saw scenarios where he could have been wrong and others where he made the right move.
Barkley said it helped him grow as a person, and fans around the world will get a look into that journey on Thursday.
"The big thing I do like about the doc, though, it's not supposed to make me look perfect or \[like\] some star," Barkley said. "If you look at the 'Last Dance,' I think that was a great chance for guys to really get to know Michael Jordan, the killer mindset that he had, and how great of a player he was. Yes, I had the phenomenal season last year, but I think it's relatable for a lot of people that go through adversity in life." — Written by Matt Ryan