Sports Movies have been some outstanding fictional ballers in the illustrious pantheon of basketball movies. Consider Air Bud. Compared to Kawhi, Pup is a better on-ball defender. Foghorn Leghorn, perhaps? Would you bother with Foghorn Leghorn if you had that massive chicken ass attempting to box you off a rebound? There is Jesus Shuttleworth, of course. But you already fully understand that you shouldn’t obstruct that man.
Best Basketball Movies to Enjoy During March Carnival
We’ve created a list of the top basketball films in honor of all the fantastic film hoopers and what will hopefully be our first March Carnival in two years. We created a ranking of the greatest basketball films ever. The classics, such as Hoosiers, Love & Basketball, and White Men Can’t Jump, are present, but some modern favorites are a little more basketball related.
Look at Uncut Gems. Oh, and without a tribute to Michael Jordan, the best basketball films are incomplete. You always have to respect the GOAT, not start a completely new argument before the discussion itself. The Top 25 Basketball Films of all Time are Listed Below.
25 Basketball Movies of all Time:
With this list, you can enjoy March Madness whenever possible, even if your bracket is completely blown.
25. Space Jam
- Director: Joe Pytka
- Writer: Leo Benvenuti
- Cast: Billy West, Danny DeVito, Wayne knight, Michael Jordan, and Theresa Randle.
- IMDb: 6.5/10
- Rotten Tomatoes: 44%
- Platforms: Hulu
Space Jam Review:
Space Jam is one of the best basketball-related films for children. Every basketball lover adores this timeless classic of a film. What other concept is as audacious and brilliant as fusing Michael Jordan with Looney Tunes? Every child will undoubtedly enjoy and be excited by this movie, and adults are not exempt.
Participate in an original basketball match with the monsters aliens alongside one of the best NBA players in history. The most alluring element, along with the soundtrack, is the approachable and straightforward plot.
24. Hoop Dreams
- Director: Steve James
- Writer: Frederick Marx
- Cast: William Gates and Arthur Agee.
- IMDb: 8.3/10
- Rotten Tomatoes: 98%
- Platforms: HBO Max
Hoop Dreams Plot:
In this “Best film editing” film, William Gates & Arthur Agee’s extraordinary career in basketball is chronicled. The same dream unites two young men from different cultural backgrounds in South Chicago’s inner city.
Agee was ineligible since she did not come from an affluent family or attend a prominent private school like Gates. He decided to play basketball at a public school. Their expansion and achievement are closely followed in the movie.
23. Glory Road
- Director: James Gartner
- Writer: Chris Cleveland
- Cast: Josh Lucas, Derek Luke, and Jon Voight.
- IMDb: 7.2/10
- Rotten Tomatoes: 55%
- Platforms: Disney+
Glory Road Plot:
Glory Road, another movie on the list related to a particular tale, takes place in 1966. The film centers on Don Haskins, the first black coach in NCAA basketball history to launch an all-black starting lineup. During the game, his squad experienced significant racial hostility. But after they defeated the University of Kentucky basketball team entirely of white players, they were given the sweet fruit.
The basketball scenes in this film leave a lasting effect on spectators thanks to the involvement of a talented ensemble of players, including Jon Voight, Josh Lucas, & Derek Luke.
22. Coach Carter
- Director: Thomas Carter
- Writer: Mark Schwahn and John Gatins
- Cast: Rob Brown, Channing Tatum, Rick Gonzalez, Robert Richard, and Samuel L. Jackson.
- IMDb: 7.3/10
- Rotten Tomatoes: 64%
- Platforms: Netflix
Coach Carter Plot:
Coach Carter is far more than a basketball film; it’s also a tale of how each person overcomes their challenges with the support of their teammates. In addition to coaching basketball at a high school, Samuel L. Jackson serves as each player’s friend and life coach.
The city of Richmond’s unbeaten team is made up of a variety of individuals with various issues. But they always work together to find solutions and achieve success by working together.
Timo Cruz with one of my favorite quotes to this day. #CoachCarter 💯 pic.twitter.com/gdOqsXsXLx
— Rick Heidrick (@rheidrick24) June 28, 2020
21. Hoosiers
- Director: David Anspaugh
- Writer: Angelo Pizzo
- Cast: Barbara Hershey, Denis Hopper, and Gene Hackman.
- IMDb: 7.4/10
- Rotten Tomatoes: 91%
- Platforms: Hulu
When it refers to basketball films based on collegiate basketball, Hoosiers has been one of the best.
Hoosiers Plot:
This motivational film centers on a basketball team headed toward winning the state championship, their ultimate aim. The Hoosier’s narrative is straightforward and approachable no matter what sport is involved. If the movie mentioned the Milan High School team’s efforts in 1954, viewers would be even more sympathetic while seeing it.
20. He Got Game
- Director: Spike Lee
- Writer: Spike Lee
- Cast: Ray Allen, Milla Jovovich, and Denzel Washington.
- IMDb: 6.9/10
- Rotten Tomatoes: 80%
- Platforms: Disney+
He Got Game Plot:
It is a pure and organic basketball film. ‘He Got Game is about Jake Shuttlesworth (Denzel Washington), a man in prison for killing his wife and son Jesus (Ray Allen). With numerous recruiters, the youthful Jesus has a promising professional basketball future.
Trouble only started when the Governor proposed to shorten Jake’s term and grant him a provisional release in exchange for persuading his lethargic kid to enroll at the Governor’s alma mater.
19. Love and Basketball
- Director: Gina Prince Bythewood
- Writer: Gina Prince Bythewood
- Cast: Sanaa Lathan, Dennis Haysbert, Alfre Woodard, and Omar Epps.
- IMDb: 7.2/10
- Rotten Tomatoes: 82%
- Platforms: Netflix
Love and Basketball Plot:
A timeless love story about the brittle feelings of adolescence, basketball, and the court: the story of Monica and Quincy, two young friends, is told in Love and Basketball (Omar Epps). Their flirtation and feelings are made clear through one-on-one battles on the asphalt.
Love And Basketball focuses on life experiences and important lessons rather than showing off too many basketball talents or spectacular games. The viewer is drawn in by the couple’s relationship’s development throughout each installment when watching the movie.
18. Celtic Pride
- Director: Tom DeCerchio
- Writer: Judd Apatow
- Cast: Christopher McDonald, Gail O’Grady, Daniel Stern, Damon Wayans.
- IMDb: 5.3/10
- Rotten Tomatoes: 8%
- Platforms: Disney+
Celtic Pride Plot:
In Celtic Pride, the 1996 comedy founded by Judd Apatow & Colin Quinn, about something like a pair of Boston die-hards who revere their teams above, well, anything else, it’s simple to confuse Daniel Stern for a youthful Bill Simmons. Mike (Stern) & Jimmy (Dan Akroyd), eager for the Celtics to defeat the Jazz in Game 7 of something like the NBA Finals, overpower and abduct Utah’s best player, Lewis Scott, obviously has broader consequences than the outcome of a basketball game.
It’s a movie needing a concept, but it includes Christopher McDonald at his finest, standing at his Happy Gilmore height as Utah’s erratic coach.
17. Like Mike
- Director: John Schultz
- Writer: Jordan Moffet and Michael Elliot.
- Cast: Eugene Levy, Crispin Glover, Jonathan Lipnicki, Robert Forster, Morris Chestnut, and Lil’ Bow Wow.
- IMDb: 5.3/10
- Rotten Tomatoes: 57%
- Platforms: Disney+
Like Mike Plot:
Like Mike, recognized for having the most NBA cameos in a single film, is a fantasy story about Calvin Cambridge, an adolescent who hooks up some worn-out sneakers with the initials “MJ.” His ball-handling abilities reach superstar levels immediately, earning him a contract with the fictitious Los Angeles Knights. Until Cambridge wipes the floor with steadfast All-Stars, this appears to be a marketing gimmick.
His much taller partner is the father figure he’s been looking for, adding just the right amount of emotional weight to this brand-infused, professional trampoline scenario.
16. Teen Wolf
- Director: Rod Daniel
- Writer: Jeff Davis
- Cast: Arden Cho, Colton Haynes, Crystal Reed, Tyler Posey, and Holland Roden.
- IMDb: 7.7/10
- Rotten Tomatoes: 81%
- Platforms: Hulu and Disney+
Teen Wolf Plot:
The gymnasium is silent for more than a minute. Following his transformation into a werewolf, Michael J. Fox dribbles the basketball in front of his astonished colleagues and dumbfounded spectators. He eventually seizes the opportunity by running down the court and slamming the ball home; the frightening shock eventually changes into a joyful surprise.
This youngster can now play! As his classmates finally refer to him, Teen Wolf manages to develop into a fantastic athlete, ball hog, and minor star who struggles to control his hair-growing, eye-glowing tendencies even though the movie scores quite poorly when it comes to showing quality basketball.
15. The Basketball Diaries
- Director: Scott Kalvert
- Writer: Jim Carroll
- Cast: Jim Carroll, Leonardo DeCaprio, Lorraine Bracco, and James Madison.
- IMDb: 7.3/10
- Rotten Tomatoes: 47%
- Platforms: Netflix
It is immediately apparent that Leonardo DiCaprio is not a skilled basketball player when he begins to dribble. But in The Basketball Diaries, which is based on poet Jim Carroll’s autobiography of the same name, this decision doesn’t matter.
The Basketball Diaries Plot:
Carroll’s stardom as a member of the “hottest Catholic High School national basketball association in New York City” burns rapidly and brightly when he is subjected to sexual molestation by his coach and falls victim to deadly drug addiction. It’s a depressing picture of untapped athletic ability. Basketball gives a glimpse of what might have been rather than a path out.
14. High Flying Bird
- Director: Steven Soderberggh
- Writer: Trell Alvin McCraney
- Cast: Sonja Sohn, Zachary Quinto, Malvin Gregg, Andre Holland, and Bill Duke.
- IMDb: 6.2/10
- Rotten Tomatoes: 91%
- Platforms: Netflix
Steven Soderbergh is the maestro of creating a fantastic movie in any genre, even though saying it now almost seems cliché. After experimenting with horror, stripper comedies, and a good dozen other genres, Soderbergh decided to make a sports movie called High Flying Bird. However, it’s not the tale you’d anticipate.
High Flying Bird Plot:
In High Flying Bird, a modern sports agent’s ultra-ultra-dramatic existence is chronicled. One of the most realistic sports movies you’ll ever see, High Flying Bird, has NBA star appearances and André Holland’s outstanding performance.
13. Fast Break
- Director: Jack Smight
- Writer: Marc Kaplan
- Cast: Bernard King, Gabe Kaplan, and Harold Sylvester.
- IMDb: 6.1/10
- Rotten Tomatoes: 90%
- Platforms: Amazon Instant Video
If all of your basketball knowledge came from watching films, you might think that the only place college coaches have neglected to scout for top talent in New York City.
Fast Break Plot:
In the sequel to Fast Break, a delicatessen entrepreneur realizes his dream of teaching basketball by taking a position at a little Nevada college. He gathers a few inner-city kids he wishes to give a second opportunity before leaving his wife and moving to the west.
12. Rebound: The Legend of Earl “The Goat”
- Director: Eric La Salle
- Writer: Larry Golin and Alan Swyer.
- Cast: Forest Whitaker, James Earl Jones, Michael Beach, Clarence Williams III, Don Cheadle.
- IMDb: 7.6/10
- Rotten Tomatoes: 54%
- Platforms: Netflix
Rebound: The Legend of Earl “The Goat” Plot:
A reporter questions Kareem Abdul-Jabar at the start of Rebound about which player is the best he has ever seen. Earl Manigault, often known as “The Goat,” is the centerpiece of this HBO biopic featuring Don Cheadle, who portrays the legend of the Harlem playground. Elite guard & prolific jumper, Manigault wastes the talent that a local sanitation worker recognizes in him by blowing a shot at college and falling into drug addiction.
11. Cornbread, Earl and Me
- Director: Joseph Mandrake
- Writer: Ronald Fair
- Cast: Laurence Fishburne, Moses Gunn, Bernie Casey, Jamaal Wilkes, and Rosalind Cash.
- IMDb: 6.8/10
- Rotten Tomatoes: 72%
- Platforms: B&B TV
Cornbread, Earl and Me Plot:
A misjudged murder occurs against a torrential downpour, changing an otherwise upbeat basketball inspirational story into a depressing courtroom drama. Despite playing the role of big brother to Wilfred & Earl, Nathanial “Cornbread” Hamilton, played by NBA player Jamaal Wilkes, is unfortunately slain by police who mistake them for a suspect weeks before starting college.
10. Above the Rim
- Director: Jeff Pollack
- Writer: Jeff Pollack
- Cast: Tonya Pinkins, Tupac Shakur, Bernie Mac, Leon, and Duane martin.
- IMDb: 6.6/10
- Rotten Tomatoes: 50%
- Platforms: Netflix
The number of dunks in Above the Rim, a film that carries its title very literally, is almost hard to keep track of.
Above the Rim Plot:
The street ball that the film’s hotshot high school player Kyle (Duane Martin) plays goes against the way his college scouts and head coach want him to play. As a pompous ball hog, Kyle becomes too involved with a drug dealer in Harlem, whose older brother, an old high school standout who is now a security officer, starts dating Kyle’s mother.
9. Finding Forrester
- Director: Gus Van Sant
- Writer: Mike Rich
- Cast: Sean Connery, Anna Paquin, Busta Rhymes, Michael Pitt, and F. Murray Abraham.
- IMDb: 7.3/10
- Rotten Tomatoes: 74%
- Platforms: Vudu
How can a gifted black basketball player from the Bronx be the top author at a prestigious private school in Manhattan?
Finding Forrester Plot:
This film, which dispels prejudices and teaches us not to judge a book by its cover, could be considered Gus Van Sant’s metaphorical New York prequel to Good Will Hunting. The phenomenon in question, Jamal (Rob Brown), forms an odd acquaintance with a well-known Scottish novelist who has become a recluse and becomes a stern mentor to the 16-year-old.
8. Uncut Gems
- Director: Josh Safdie
- Writer: Ronald Bronstein
- Cast: Idina Menzel, Kevin Garnett, Julia Fox, Adam Sandler, and Eric Bogosian.
- IMDb: 7.4/10
- Rotten Tomatoes: 92%
- Platforms: Netflix
Uncut Gems Review:
Uncut Gems is indeed a basketball film, just to be precise. Take it from the Safdie Brothers, the movie’s directors, and die-hard Knicks supporters: the already-legendary Sandler adventure is unquestionably a sports movie. Then again, Uncut Gems is an adventure.
Sandler portrays a jeweler determined to wager an exorbitant sum of cash on a Celtics game. Sex, weapons, drugs, and mayhem follow. Additionally, Kevin Garnett’s performance as Kevin Garnett would have been legitimately Oscar-worthy if he had received more screen time.
7. White Men Can’t Jump
- Director: Ron Shelton
- Writer: Ron Shelton
- Cast: Woody Harrelson, Wesley Snipes, and Rosie Perez.
- IMDb: 6.8/10
- Rotten Tomatoes: 77%
- Platforms: Disney+
White Men Can’t Jump Plot:
Wesley Snipes & Woody Harrelson are considerably shorter than six feet, but their arrogance and trash-talking bravado make up for this. The two Venice Beach hustlers start as rivals but eventually understand the financial benefits of taking advantage of “chumps,” the most derogatory street ball slur, who stereotype skin color and later pay for it.
6. The Fish That Saved Pittsburgh
- Director: Gilbert Moses
- Writer: David Dashev
- Cast: Jonathan Winters, Jack Kehoe, Julius Erving, Margaret Avery, and Kareem Abdul Jabbar.
- IMDb: 5.2/10
- Rotten Tomatoes: 71%
- Platforms: Prime Video
The Fish That Saved Pittsburgh Plot:
The Pittsburgh Pythons, a failing pro basketball team, is coached by Moses Guthrie. The “Pittsburgh Pisces” is formed when horoscope Mona Mondieu recommends that the squad be made up solely of born players underneath the Pisces sign.
It’s a great, campy ’70s cult classic with disco, astrology, lots of NBA players, and early cameos by Debbie Allen & Harry Shearer.
5. The Pistol: The Birth of a Legend
- Director: Frank C. Schroder
- Writer: Darrel Campbell
- Cast: Nick Benedict, Millie Perkins, Boots Garland, Adam Guier, and Tom Lester.
- IMDb: 6.8/10
- Rotten Tomatoes: 71%
- Platforms: DIRECTV
The Pistol: The Birth of a Legend Plot:
This biography, created shortly after the famed “Pistol Pete” Maravich’s unexpected death in 1988 at the age of 40, celebrates the start of his basketball career in the eighth grade. Basketball play involving dad and child becomes a strict instruction in the sport’s principles because Adam Guier’s dad, Press, was the coach for the Clemson Tigers at the time.
4. Blue Chips
- Director: William Friedkin
- Writer: Ron Shelton
- Cast: Mary McDonnell, J. T. Walsh, Alfre Woodard, Nick Nolte, and Shaquille O’Neal.
- IMDb: 6.2/10
- Rotten Tomatoes: 37%
- Platforms: Paramount Plus
Blue Chips Plot:
To recruit talented high school basketball players, Pete Bell (Nick Nolte), a college basketball teacher with such a losing team, hooks up with a school booster. Bell soon struggles with guilt after being pursued by a writer searching for a controversy.
Shaquille O’Neal and Anfernee “Penny” Penny, two real-life NBA players, are cast members as two of the players in “Blue Chips,” while other coaches and players make cameo appearances. The movie also features some fantastic basketball moments.
3. The Way Back
- Director: Gavin O’Connor
- Writer: Brad Ingsley
- Cast: Al Madrigal, Janina Gavankar, Ben Affleck, and Michaela Watkins
- IMDb: 6.7/10
- Rotten Tomatoes: 84%
- Platforms: Prime Video
The Way Back Plot:
The former outstanding basketball player and now alcoholic worker in construction Jack Cunningham are recruited to teach at his old high school. Since Cunningham’s era, the school hasn’t participated in a championship, and the team has shrunk to just six members.
For his compelling portrayal of a guy overcoming personal troubles and addictions and trying to find his way back with the aid of the profession he once starred in but the young men he now mentors in somewhat unconventional ways, Affleck won acclaim.
2. Semi-Pro
- Director: Kent Alterman
- Writer: Scot Armstrong
- Cast: Woody Harrelson, Andre Benjamin, Maura Tierney, and Will Arnett.
- IMDb: 5.8/10
- Rotten Tomatoes: 22%
- Platforms: Netflix
Semi-Pro Review:
By far, this is not the best Will Ferrell film. It’s also not the most excellent sports movie starring Will Ferrell; “Blades of Glory” and “Talladega Nights” can both be superior. Ferrell, who portrays Jackie Moon, a one-hit wonder disco musician who manages, coaches, and performs for a basketball team named the Flint Tropics, nonetheless gives 110% in “Semi-Pro.”
In the forthcoming union of the two leagues, The Equatorial regions of the ABA are one of four teams that will join the NBA.
1. The Winning Season
- Director: James C. Strouse
- Writer: James C. Strouse
- Cast: Emma Roberts, Shareeka Epps, Emily Rios, and Rooney Mara.
- IMDb: 6.6/10
- Rotten Tomatoes: 50%
- Platforms: Netflix
The Winning Season Plot:
In 2009, “The Winning Season,” the narrative of a bottom divorced parent who is granted the opportunity to manage a girls’ high school basketball team by his principal friend, came and went relatively quietly.
Sam Rockwell, consistently dependable and vastly underappreciated, delivers a premise that would not have worked differently. It’s undoubtedly one of the more unbelievable and perplexing ideas for a sports movie—or any movie.
