Basketball Movies: See the 35 best in history

 Michael Jordan and LeBron James on the court next to Bugs Bunny or Kobe Bryant receiving an Oscar. Basketball movies provide memorable moments!

We have prepared a list of movies of all genres. Want a laugh? We have comedy! Are you looking for an inspiring story? Are several!

Come with us!

List of the best basketball movies in history

• space jam
• Coach Carter
• Decisive Play (He got game)
• White Men Can't Dump
• Blue Chips
• Beyond Limits (Love & Basketball)
• Road to Glory (Glory Road)
• The Sixth Man (The Sixth Man)
• Diary of a Teenager (The Basketball Diaries)
• Ezrah Amerikai – An American Citizen
• Right Play (Just Wright)
• Brotherly Love (Brotherly Love)
• Wolves
• One for all and all for one (The Winning Season)
• Finding Forrester (Finding Forrester)
• The Crime Thing (Above the Rim)
• Decisive Moments (Hoosiers)
• The Aloprados (Semi-pro)
• Magic and Bird: the courtship of rivals
• More than a game
• One in a Billion
• Game Face
• At All Costs
• Without Bias
• Iverson
• Winning Time: Reggie Miller vs. The Knicks
• The Announcement
• Kobe Doin' Work
• Once Brothers
• Hoop Dreams
• guru of go
• I hate Christian Laettner
• Celtics/Lakers: Best of Enemies
• June 17th, 1994
• Dear Basketball: The Legend of Kobe

Below is a summary of each film:

space jam

• Release: 1996
• Director: Joe Pytka
• Cast: Michael Jordan, Wayne Knight, Theresa Randle
• Duration: 1h28
• Genre: Animation/Comedy
• IMDb Rating: 6.4

In a desperate bid to win a basketball game and earn their freedom, the Looney Tunes seek the help of retired basketball champion Michael Jordan.

In the next edition of Space Jam, it will be the turn to see Lebron James as Bugs Bunny's companion!

Coach Carter

• Release: 2005
• Director: Thomas Carter
• Cast: Samuel L. Jackson, Rick Gonzalez, Robert Ri'chard
• Duration: 2h16
• Genre: Biography/Drama
• IMDb Rating: 7.3

In 1999, Ken Carter tries to put a high school basketball team in Richmond, California, in the fight for titles. But when the players' grades start to drop, Carter closes the gym and interrupts the championship, which generates revolt from players and family members.

Decisive Play (He got game)

• Release: 1998
• Director: Spike Lee
• Cast: Denzel Washington, Milla Jovovich, Ray Allen
• Duration: 2h16
• Genre: Drama
• IMDb Rating: 6.9

Jake Shuttlesworth is serving time for murdering his wife, mother of their son Jesus (Ray Allen), after a violent domestic dispute. An excellent basketball player, wanted by several professional teams to pursue his career, he feels overshadowed by his father, who ends up receiving parole on one condition: convince his son to sign a contract to play basketball for the Big State University.

White Men Can't Dump

• Release: 1992
• Director: Ron Shelton
• Cast: Wesley Snipes, Woody Harrelson, Rosie Perez
• Duration: 1h55
• Genre: Comedy/Drama
• IMDb Rating: 6.7

Excellent basketball players, one black and one white join forces to cheat opponents and double their chances of winning money on the street courts and in a basketball tournament.

Blue Chips

• Release: 1994
• Director: William Friedkin
• Cast: Nick Nolte, Mary McDonnell, JT Walsh
• Duration: 1h48
• Genre: Drama
• IMDb Rating: 6.1

A college basketball coach is forced to bend the rules to get the trio of players he wants to stay competitive.

Beyond Limits (Love & Basketball)

• Release: 2000
• Director: Gina Prince-Bythewood
• Cast: Sanaa Lathan, Omar Epps, Glenndon Chatman
• Duration: 2h04
• Genre: Drama/Romance
• IMDb Rating: 7.2

Monica and Quincy love and play basketball together. Through many life challenges from childhood to adulthood, they dream of making NBA and WNBA teams.

Road to Glory (Glory Road)

• Release: 2006
• Director: James Gartner
• Cast: Josh Lucas, Derek Luke, Austin Nichols
• Duration: 1h58
• Genre: Biography/Drama
• IMDb Rating: 7.2

Road to Glory chronicles how, in 1966, Texas coach Don Haskins led the first black college basketball team to the NCAA national championship.

The Sixth Man (The Sixth Man)

• Release: 1997
• Director: Randall Miller
• Cast: Marlon Wayans, Kadeem Hardison, David Paymer
• Duration: 1h47
• Genre: Comedy/Drama
• IMDb Rating: 5.7

Brothers Antoine and Kenny Tyler are NCAA college basketball players who dream of becoming sports stars. However, suddenly, Antoine dies and Kenny has to assume leadership of the team. Some time later, Antoine returns as a ghost and continues to help his brother's team.

Diary of a Teenager (The Basketball Diaries)

• Release: 1995
• Director: Scott Kalvert
• Cast: Leonardo DiCaprio, Lorraine Bracco, Marilyn Sokol
• Duration: 1h42
• Genre: Biography/Crime
• IMDb Rating: 7.3

A teenager finds his dreams of becoming a basketball star threatened after he falls into the harrowing world of drug addiction.

Ezrah Amerikai – An American Citizen

• Release: 1992
• Director: Eitan Green
• Cast: Seffie Adir, Icho Avital, Chaim Banai
• Duration: 1h40
• Genre: Drama
• IMDb Rating: 6.3

An Israeli sports journalist befriends an American basketball player who plays in Israel. Though from very different backgrounds, their love of the game deepens their friendship. Each learns to value the culture of the other.

Right Play (Just Wright)

• Release: 2010
• Director: Sana Hamri
• Cast: Queen Latifah, Common, Paula Patton
• Duration: 1h40
• Genre: Comedy/Romance
• IMDb Rating: 5.9

A physical therapist falls in love with the basketball player she is helping recover from a career-threatening injury.

Brotherly Love (Brotherly Love)

• Release: 2015
• Director: Jamal Hill
• Cast: Keke Palmer, Cory Hardrict, Romeo Miller
• Duration: 1h29
• Genre: Drama
• IMDb Rating: 6.7

Set against the backdrop of Philadelphia's famed Overbrook High School, Amor de Irmão follows the life of number one basketball player Sergio Taylor as he deals with the first pressures of fame.

Wolves

• Release: 2016
• Director: Bart Freundlich
• Cast: Taylor John Smith, Michael Shannon, Carla Gugino
• Duration: 1h49
• Genre: Drama
• IMDb Rating: 5.6

An 18-year-old basketball star who is being recruited by Cornell University but, at home, struggles with his troubled father who has a gambling addiction. Her mother tries to keep the family afloat, but does so at great emotional and financial sacrifice.

One for all and all for one (The Winning Season)

• Release: 2009
• Director: Jim Strouse
• Cast: Sam Rockwell, Emma Roberts, Rob Corddry
• Duration: 1h44
• Comedy genre
• IMDb Rating: 6.6

A former star basketball player sidelined by drinking is given a chance at redemption when a high school principal asks him to coach the girls' basketball team.

Finding Forrester (Finding Forrester)

• Release: 2000
• Director: Gus Van Sant
• Cast: Sean Connery, Rob Brown, F. Murray Abraham
• Duration: 2h16
• Genre: Drama
• IMDb Rating: 7.3

A young teenager wins a scholarship to an elite Manhattan school due to his performance on the tests at his former high school in the Bronx and also for playing very well in basketball. After a bet with friends, he finds a mentor in a reclusive author.

The Crime Thing (Above the Rim)

• Release: 1994
• Director: Jeff Pollack
• Cast: Duane Martin, Tupac Shakur, Leon
• Duration: 1h36
• Genre: Crime/Drama
• IMDb Rating: 6.6

The film chronicles the story of a promising high school basketball star and his relationships with two brothers, one a drug dealer and the other a former basketball star who fell on hard times and now works as a security guard.

Decisive Moments (Hoosiers)

• Release: 1986
• Director: David Anspaugh
• Cast: Gene Hackman, Barbara Hershey, Dennis Hopper
• Duration: 1h54
• Genre: Drama
• IMDb Rating: 7.6

A coach with a past marked by failures is given a chance to redeem himself on a small-town Indiana basketball team. However, his team loses its main player and the community puts pressure on him for choosing an alcoholic as his assistant coach.

The Aloprados (Semi-pro)

• Release: 2008
• Director: Kent Alterman
• Cast: Will Ferrell, Woody Harrelson, Andre Benjamin
• Duration: 1h31
• Comedy genre
• IMDb Rating: 5.8

Jackie Moon, owner-coach-player of the Flint Michigan Tropics of the American Basketball Association, rallies his teammates to fulfill his NBA dreams.

basketball documentaries

Some of the best basketball movies ever made are documentaries. In the list below, you will find stories that go far beyond the courts.

Once Brothers, for example, tells how the Balkan War shook the friendship of two great basketball stars from the former Yugoslavia.

The Announcement is an account of Magic Johnson's announcement that he was HIV positive in a period of great uncertainty about AIDS.

Check out the list of the best basketball documentaries!

Magic and Bird: the courtship of rivals

• Release: 2010
• Director: Ezra Edelman
• Cast: Magic Johnson, Larry Bird, Steve Springer
• Duration: 1h25
• Genre: Documentary/Biography
• IMDb Rating: 8.3

The documentary is an exploration of the fierce rivalry between NBA superstars Larry Bird and Magic Johnson during their decade of dominance, playing for the Boston Celtics and Los Angeles Lakers .

More than a game

• Release: 2008
• Director: Kristopher Belman
• Cast: LeBron James, Dru Joyce, Romeo Travis
• Duration: 1h45
• Genre: Documentary/Biography
• IMDb Rating: 7.6

This documentary follows NBA star LeBron James and four of his talented teammates through high school basketball practices and duels in Ohio before The King joins the Cleveland Cavaliers .

One in a Billion

• Release: 2016
• Director: Roman Gackowski
• Cast: Dan Barto, Balbir Singh Bhamara, Satnam Singh Bhamara
• Duration: 1h09
• Genre: Documentary
• IMDb Rating: 6.8

In a country of 1.2 billion people and a sport with billions of fans around the world, there still isn't a single Indian-born player in the NBA. One in a Billion follows the global journey of Satnam Singh Bhamara from his home of Ballo Ke, a rural village in rural India, to the bright lights of New York City, as he tries to change history.

Game Face

• Release: 2015
• Director: Michael Thomas
• Cast: Kye Allums, Terrence Clemens, Jason Collins
• Duration: 1h35
• Genre: Documentary
• IMDb Rating: 6.4

Game Face shows the search for self-realization of LGBT athletes and acceptance in society. This documentary tells the parallel story of Fallon Fox, MMA's first transgender professional fighter, and Terrence Clemens, a college basketball player in Oklahoma who happens to be gay.

The film follows the two athletes and sheds light on the obstacles that LGBTQ sports players deal with throughout their careers. Former NBA star Jason Collins shines as Terrence's mentor in this inspiring documentary.

At All Costs

• Release: 2016
• Director: Mike Nicole
• Duration: 1h40
• Genre: Documentary
• IMDb Rating: 6.5

At All Costs is a documentary that explores how the AAU system professionalized youth basketball in the United States. The 'blue chip' prospects, their families and their teams are portrayed as they navigate the unstable terrain of the AAU circuit in pursuit of their dreams.

Without Bias

• Release: 2009
• Director: Kirk Fraser
• Cast: Marion Barry Jr., Jeff Baxter, Eric Bias
• Duration: 1h36
• Genre: Biography
• IMDb Rating: 7.2

From legend to tragedy. The name of former University of Maryland basketball and Boston Celtics draft star Len Bias still elicits powerful and immediate responses more than 20 years after his death.

Iverson

• Release: 2014
• Director: Zatella Beatty
• Cast: Allen Iverson, Tom Brokaw, Larry Brown
• Duration: 1h46
• Genre: Documentary/Biography
• IMDb Rating: 7.0

Iverson is the ultimate legacy of NBA legend Allen Iverson, who rose from a childhood of grinding poverty in Hampton, Virginia to become an 11-time NBA All-Star and universally recognized icon of his sport.

Off the court, his audacious rejection of the NBA's conservative convention and unapologetic embrace of hip hop culture sent shockwaves across the league and influenced an entire generation.

Winning Time: Reggie Miller vs. The Knicks

• Release: 2009
• Director: Dan Klores
• Cast: Reggie Miller, Cheryl Miller, Spike Lee
• Duration: 1h08
• Genre: Documentary/Biography
• IMDb Rating: 8.0

A film that explores the rivalry between the Indiana Pacers and the New York Knicks , through the perspective and actions of star Reggie Miller, from the Indianapolis team.

The Announcement

• Release: 2012
• Director: Nelson George
• Cast: Magic Johnson, Larry Bird, George Bush and Dyan Cannon
• Duration: 1h30
• Genre: Documentary
• IMDb Rating: 7.6

An in-depth look at basketball player Earvin "Magic" Johnson's career and the days leading up to and years after he announced to the world that he was HIV positive.

Kobe Doin' Work

• Release: 2009
• Director: Spike Lee
• Cast: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Kobe Bryant, Stephen A. Smith
• Duration: 1h24
• Genre: Documentary
• IMDb Rating: 6.3

From director Spike Lee, Kobe Doin' Work is a documentary that follows Kobe Bryant through a day and also during a game against the San Antonio Spurs . It is possible to hear all the Los Angeles Lakers star's conversations with teammates, the provocations with opponents and complaints with arbitration.

Once Brothers

• Release: 2010
• Director: Michael Tolajian
• Cast: Vlade Divac
• Duration: 1h24
• Genre: Documentary
• IMDb Rating:-

Once Brothers reveals the terrifying aspects of civil war. The “brothers” of the successful national team of Yugoslavia, Vlade Divac (Serb) and Drazen Petrovic (Croat) see their friendship strongly shaken by the Balkan War.

A flag incident after a Serbia match spelled the end of a long and deep friendship, which tragically would never have a chance to mend, even after the war.

Hoop Dreams

• Release: 1994
• Director: Steve James
• Cast: William Gates, Arthur Agee, Emma Gates
• Duration: 2h50
• Genre: Documentary/Drama
• IMDb Rating: 8.3

Hoop Dreams is a film that follows the lives of two Chicago boys who struggle to become college basketball players.

Guru of go

• Release: 2009
• Director: Bill Couturie
• Cast: Paul Westhead
• Duration: 51min
• Genre: Documentary/Biography
• IMDb Rating: 7.0

The documentary follows the career of Paul Westhead, who became famous as a coach of his rapid game system. His career spanned NBA and WNBA titles and intense controversy at the college level.

I hate Christian Laettner

• Release: 2009
• Director: Rory Karpf
• Cast: Rob Lowe, Christian Laettner, Dick Vitale
• Duration: 1h30
• Genre: Documentary/Biography
• IMDb Rating: 7.6

He made perhaps the most dramatic jump shot in NCAA tournament basketball history. He is the only player to start four consecutive Finals and was instrumental in Duke winning two national championships. He had looks, brains and game. So why has Christian Laettner been so hated by so many for so long?

"I Hate Christian Laettner" goes beyond the polarizing personality to reveal the full story behind this college basketball lightning rod.

Celtics/Lakers: Best of Enemies

• Release: 2009
• Director: Jim Podhoretz
• Cast: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Tiny Archibald, Larry Bird
• Duration: 1h41
• Genre: Documentary/Biography
• IMDb Rating: 7.5

Divided into 3 episodes, this documentary series produced by ESPN analyzes the origins of the rivalry between the Boston Celtics and Los Angeles Lakers in the 1980s, in great duels that rekindled the NBA.

Check out a sample of what those duels were like in this NBA video:

Bonus movie

June 17th, 1994

• Release: 2009
• Director: Brett Morgen
• Cast: Marv Albert, Rex Beaber and Chris Berman
• Duration: 53min
• Genre: Documentary/Biography
• IMDb Rating: 7.7

June 17th, 1994 could even be on our best football movies list . After all, the persecution of OJ Simpson is one of the facts that marked the history of the sport on this day.

However, the documentary is included in our list of films about basketball because it was the day of the NBA Finals.

Constructed by images from the press of that day, the film shows how the pursuit of Juice overshadowed the decision of the biggest basketball league in the world and other sporting events, such as the opening of the 1994 World Cup, in the United States.

Bonus movie 2

Dear Basketball: The Legend of Kobe

• Release: 2015
• Director: Glen Keane
• Cast: Kobe Bryant
• Duration: 3min57
• Genre: Animated Short Film
• IMDb Rating: 7.1

Winner of the 2018 Academy Award for Best Short Film, “Dear Basketball” is based on Kobe Bryant's retirement letter, the narration is followed by sample videos of pieces from his career. “5 seconds on the clock, ball in hand. 5, 4, 3, 2, 1…”.