Mark Wahlberg wants to direct the movie based on Caron Butler's life ... and guess who's super stoked to hear that??
CARON BUTLER!!
TMZ Sports spoke with Tuff Juice about Marky Mark wanting to tackle Butler's story of a drug dealing childhood to becoming an NBA All-Star in his directorial debut ... and he says it's a dream come true.
Butler says Wahlberg is his top choice to direct the flick ... even with HUGE names like Peter Berg and Spike Lee being interested in joining the project.
"I'm going with Mark ... just because I know he'd be even more passionate about the project. I mean he's possibly starring in the movie AND directing it?? ... I know he'd go all in."