10 Best Basketball Movies That You Should Watching Update 04/2024

Best Basketball Movies

Basketball is one of the most enjoyable sports out there. Each and every person who has ever played basketball can identify with the game’s fundamentals.

The sport’s appeal extends far beyond the game itself, and it’s not just about the games itself that draw in the casual fan. Basketball’s appeal extends to the film industry and has been widely featured on the silver screen over the years.

As a kid, have you ever imagined yourself as your favorite basketball player and launched a game-winning shot as the clock ran out? In the best basketball movies, the same wonder and delight is on display.

10. Celtic Pride

Celtic Pride

This film is for middle-aged Bostonians with green and white in their veins.

This underappreciated comedy treasure cleverly parodies the city of Boston’s unwavering, fanatical affection for its Celtics. The fans will do anything for their beloved team.

And Mike O’Hara and Jimmy Flaherty, two die-hard supporters, convey that idea in this way (played by Daniel Stern and Dan Aykroyd, respectively).

The Utah Jazz face the Boston Celtics in the NBA Finals, and their finest player, Louis Scott, is leading the charge (acted by Damon Wayans).

Because of Scott’s dominance, the two die-hard Celtics supporters get frantic.

As a result of Scott’s brilliant performance, O’Hara and Flaherty decide to kidnap the top player and keep him “hang onto him” until the Finals are done.

9. Blue Chips

College basketball’s depravity and savagery are expertly captured in Blue Chips.

Nick Nolte’s character, Coach Pete Bell, is an old-school coach who despises the unlawful “booster activities” that go place behind the scenes. Due to his clean program, all boosters were kept away from his athletes.

As his once-proud program went through a rough patch, an internal battle between his own ethics and the pull of winning at any costs ate him up inside.

His personal convictions were eventually weakened, and Bell caved in to the corrupt “friends of the program.” By giving in to temptation and departing from his own morality, he became the very thing he detested: a dishonest and cheating coach.

An undervalued film that shows the negative effects outside pressures may have on a collegiate athletics team, in my opinion.

Penny Hardaway and Shaquille O’Neal, two former NBA stars, portrayed two of Coach Bell’s players in the film.

8. Love and Basketball

Love and Basketball

Love and Basketball exemplifies the strong bond that can exist between two people who share a passion for the same sport.

Both Quincy “Q” McCall (Omar Epps) and Monica Wright (Sanaa Lathan) received scholarships to play basketball at USC, but their circumstances are very different.

Known as “Q,” the son of a former NBA player, “Q” is a highly sought-after high school basketball star. A late addition to the USC class, Monica was an underappreciated athlete who had to work her way up through the ranks of Division I collegiate basketball.

While they went their separate ways after graduation, the two eventually reunited and it worked out well for both of them.

When it comes to college basketball, the film does an excellent job of depicting the expectations that players experience, regardless of whether they are the “top dog” or a bench player seeking for a chance to shine.

7. White Men Can’t Jump

White Men Can’t Jump is a light-hearted comedy that features an odd duo of ballers who “hustle” their victims.

Pick-up games all around Los Angeles benefit from the partnership of Billy Hoyle (Woody Harrelson) and Sidney Deane (Wesley Snipes).

All opponents facing Hoyle in basketball assume he’s horrible due to his race, which is a running joke.

That he was a college basketball player is what they don’t know. When Deane realizes how good he is at basketball, they start a thriving collaboration on the streets of Los Angeles.

This comedy focuses more on the camaraderie between two people from different origins who are trying to make a life through basketball than anything else.

The film’s humor is top-notch, and both Harrelson and Snipes show off their basketball skills in the process.

6. Coach Carter

Coach Carter

Tell the truth, how many times have you tapped the top of your head and yelled “Delilah, Delilah” when setting up a play with a group of your friends?

Coach Carter is a compelling film that embodies the concept of an underdog overcoming adversity on both a personal and community level.

Rather than only focusing on basketball, Samuel L. Jackson portrays a coach who wants to impart life lessons and prioritizes academics, discipline, and morality in his students’ lives.

His Richmond-based team unites and overcomes the obstacles that plague each member, and they are a resounding success.

Coach Carter tugs at your heartstrings and ranks as one of the best high school sports movies ever made.

5. Space Jam

Is there a way to sum up this film in three words? It’s a classic.

Even though I’m 22 years old, I’ve never grown tired of this film. Just a few days ago I sat down and watched it on my DVD player.

The Looney Tunes and the best basketball player in the world? Simply put, it’s a no-brainer (no pun intended).

All things considered, this is a wonderful film for children to see. The fact that I was a kid at the release of Space Jam was an absolute blessing to me, and I relished every minute of it.

Michael Jordan, Charles Barkley, Shawn Bradley, Patrick Ewing, and Larry Johnson were all featured in the unique combination of cartoons and NBA players.

In addition to that, the soundtrack is fantastic.

It’s impossible not to think about the movie when you hear that tune.

4. Above the Rim

Above the Rim

As a young basketball player, Kyle-Lee is a rising star in New York City’s inner-city neighborhoods. His story is told in the film Above the Rim.

Having an athletic scholarship at Georgetown on the line, he is always under pressure from both positive and negative sources.

Playing the primary role is former NBA player Duane Martin. Heart and determination are intertwined with an ever-present fight to clear his mind.

This narrative is best told in the streets of Harlem, where it was shot entirely. Martin, Leon, and Tupac Shakur all give excellent performances in the film, which has a lot of complexity.

The film’s raw intensity is enthralling, and the soundtrack only enhances the story’s authenticity.

3. Hoop Dreams

The lives of two inner city teens from Chicago’s south side are chronicled in this wonderful documentary. Even if William Gates and Arthur Agee don’t make it to the NBA, they both have the goal of playing professionally.

A paradox exists in which one of the players attends a well-off private school (Gates). As a result of financial constraints, the other player (Agee) had to enroll in his local public high school.

As they made their way through the ranks, each player had to overcome a variety of challenges (low grades, drug-addicted parents, family deaths, catastrophic injuries).

It exposes the brutal underbelly of society and depicts the relevance of basketball in these inner-city neighborhoods in a beautiful and evocative way.

This, in my view, is one of the best documentaries I’ve ever seen.

One can clearly see how hard these two players are working to get out of their bad situations by playing basketball in this film.

2. Hoosiers

Hoosiers

The Midwest is often cited as the birthplace of modern basketball as the place where it all began. For Indiana specifically.

It’s no secret that basketball is a big deal in Indiana. Many high schools in this basketball-crazy state emphasize fundamentally sound basketball that relies on outside shooting and set plays.

Hoosiers, one of the greatest sports films of all time, embodies all of these qualities.

One can only imagine how this story could be used to describe a small rural town’s underdog basketball team that triumphed over a much more highly-regarded squad in the state championship game. At its core, this is high school basketball’s version of the battle between David and the Goliath of basketball.

For sports fans, it’s a must-have addition to their movie library.

1. He Got Game

In terms of authenticity, I think He Got Game is the best basketball movie ever filmed. As a result of the film’s excellent depth and naturalness on screen, I felt like I was watching a documentary at points.

For the sake of a reduced sentence, Jake Shuttlesworth (Washington), an incarcerated man, is allowed one week to convince his son Jesus (Allen), a highly acclaimed high school basketball prospect, to attend the university of the state governor’s alma mater.

Jake, a former basketball player, was a major influence on Jesus’ interest in the sport.

Allen’s performance in this picture, despite the fact that he had no previous acting experience, is truly remarkable. He and Denzel Washington both performed admirably in the picture.

To decide the destiny of both father and son, they play a game of one-on-one. They were genuinely playing a serious game when they were captured on camera! No, it was not altered in any way (meaning, Denzel can ball a bit).

Scenes that were only filmed in this film’s cinematography were breathtaking.