Just to make it clear from the start, this is a list of movies that have the sport of basketball as one of their main subjects.  If it’s a movie that only alludes to basketball as a secondary topic, it ain’t on the list. 

 

1. Hoosiers (1986)
ACTORS: Gene Hackman, Dennis Hopper, Barbara Hershey
PLAYERS: None of note
DIRECTOR: David Anspaugh
Basketball on the grassroots level: a small town high school in Indiana.  The reason that many championships are decided in a tournament format (are you listening, BCS?!) is because it is the great equalizer.  Your team might be able to beat my team 99 times out of 100, but tournaments allow us to see if that 1% is ready to show itself.  The best part is that it is based on the real-life 1954 Milan High School team and its road to a miraculous state championship.  The movie is sappy, and slow at times, and does not display a diverse set of main characters, but Gene Hackman is the epitome of a disciplinarian coach whose players would run through a brick wall for him, and Dennis Hopper looked drunk enough to be nominated for an Oscar.  I also defy you to find a better movie basketball shooter than Jimmy Chitwood: I don’t know if he can rebound, or play defense, or glide to the hoop, but the man can shoot the rock!!

 

2. Hoop Dreams (1994)
ACTORS: William Gates, Arthur Agee
PLAYERS: None of note
DIRECTOR: Steve James
CAMEOS: Bobby Knight, Spike Lee, Isiah Thomas, Dick Vitale
One of the few, if only, documentaries on the list, it was so important that it actually helped change the rules for how Academy Award documentaries are judged.  After the movie failed to get a nomination for Best Documentary, the Academy changed the its voting rules so that the people who make documentaries are now allowed to vote for movies in the genre in which they work.  It’s unfair to label it a “slice of life”, as the NBA dreams of William Gates and Arthur Agee are the focus, rather than simply a slice, of their entire life.  The fact that it is a true story only underlines the huge role that basketball plays in the lives of the two young athletes.  The fact that their dreams were never realized on the NBA level only helps teach the lesson that while it is great to achieve your dreams, it is even more important to attempt to achieve them.

 

3. White Men Can't Jump (1992)
ACTORS: Wesley Snipes, Woody Harrelson, Rosie Perez
PLAYERS: Marques Johnson, Freeman Williams
DIRECTOR: Ron Shelton
CAMEOS: Alex Trebek, Chick Hearn
One of the few, if only, comedies on the list involves a couple of basketball players who use racial stereotypes to hustle others on the court.  Director Ron Shelton, who knows how to make a great sports movie, employs a White character who can take advantage of people who underestimate his basketball ability, and a Black character who can use his White colleague to take even greater advantage of players on the local courts.  The film works as a comedy because of the widespread belief that Black men are better basketball players than White men due to their jumping ability (for a quick case study, look at the 2005 NBA Slam Dunk contest).  Marques Johnson is hilarious as a local player, and Rosie Perez is a great comic foil as Woody Harrelson’s Latino girlfriend.

 

4. He Got Game (1998)
ACTORS: Denzel Washington, Milla Jovovich, Rosario Dawson, John Turturro
PLAYERS: Ray Allen, Travis Best, Rick Fox, John Wallace, Walter McCarty
DIRECTOR: Spike Lee
CAMEOS: Michael Jordan, Shaquille O'Neal, Lute Olson, Stuart Scott
Attractive leading ladies (Milla Jovovich and Rosario Dawson), a leading man who appeals to all audiences (Denzel Washington), and a credible acting performance by an All-Star (Ray Allen): now we’re talking!  It is arguably a movie about father-son relationships, but more so about the effect that having a father in prison can have on a teenage son.  The one-on-one scenes with Washington and Allen are very moving, and the relationship between the two is special because of the role that basketball plays in each of their lives.  It also doesn’t hurt that Spike Lee is a basketball fan and first-rate movie director.

 

5. Above the Rim (1994)
ACTORS: Duane Martin, Leon, Tupac Shakur, Marlon Wayans, Bernie Mac
PLAYERS: None of note
DIRECTOR: Jeff Pollack
If I told you it’s a drama about a high school star trying to achieve his “dream” of playing for Georgetown(!), then you would know it’s not a recent movie, right?  Tupac gained notoriety for his rapping, but his dark portrayal of a man who goes to great lengths to get what he wants is very impressive.  The plot about trying to use your basketball skills to escape the inner-city is kind of a tired one, especially with the single mother and ethical dilemmas.  However, while the basketball scenes are a bit too scripted, the action is exciting, as well as the dynamic between an indoor high school competition and an outdoor “street ball” game.

 

6. Rebound: The Legend of Earl “The Goat” Manigault (1996)
ACTORS: Don Cheadle, James Earl Jones, Forest Whitaker
PLAYERS: Kevin Garnett, Mitchell Butler, Joe Smith
DIRECTOR: Eriq La Salle (Dr. Peter Benton on “ER”)
CAMEOS: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Chick Hearn
I have not seen this one either, but who is going to argue with a cast of Don Cheadle, James Earl Jones, and Forest Whitaker?!  I have read books about the legendary Earl “The Goat” Manigault, and his life story in Harlem is tailor-made for Hollywood.  Talent can elevate you over other players, but drugs can bring you down even faster.  The Goat is arguably one of the greatest playground stars in the history of the sport, which only makes his failure to cash in on his skills that much sadder.

 

7. Blue Chips (1994)
ACTORS: Nick Nolte, Mary McDonnell, J.T.Walsh, Ed O'Neill, Alfre Woodard
PLAYERS: Shaquille O’Neal, Penny Hardaway, Allan Houston, Ed Stokes
DIRECTOR: William Friedkin (who also directed “The French Connection”)
WRITER: Ron Shelton
CAMEOS: Larry Bird, Bobby Knight, Rick Pitino, Dick Vitale, Jerry Tarkanian, Bob Cousy
I like the story more than the acting and the playing, but there’s no doubt that this movie revolves around basketball and the recruiting process.  Nick Nolte has definitely had his ups and downs, but he is very believable as a college basketball coach torn between building a winner and breaking the rules.  Penny Hardaway has a better chance of winning an NBA title than winning an Oscar, and I think every single play by Shaq involves him dunking without a defender anywhere near him.  It’s hard to say how closely the unseemly recruiting practices mirror what goes on in the real world, but it’s close enough to make you wonder.

 

8. Love & Basketball (2000)
ACTORS: Sanaa Lathan, Omar Epps, Dennis Haysbert, Alfre Woodard, Tyra Banks
PLAYERS: Charles O'Bannon, Terry Cummings
DIRECTOR: Gina Prince-Bythewood
CAMEOS: Chick Hearn, Stu Lantz, Trevor Wilson, Dick Vitale, Robin Roberts
I’m still torn on whether to call this a chick flick or a sports flick, but I suppose it can be both.  While the focus of the movie is the relationship between Lathan and Epps, the role of basketball in the couple’s lives is a fundamental part of the movie.  I don’t think that there are many (if any) NBA players who are dating professional female basketball players, but I suppose it could happen.  Then again, if people who went to USC can make it in the pros (Brian Scalabrine, Jeff Trepagnier, etc), I suppose anything is possible.

 

9. The Air Up There (1994)
ACTORS: Kevin Bacon, Charles Gitonga Maina
PLAYERS: None of note
DIRECTOR: Paul Michael Glaser (Detective David Starsky from “Starsky and Hutch”)
TECHNICAL ADVISOR: Bob McAdoo
Kevin Bacon is an assistant college coach who travels to Africa in an attempt to recruit a player who he saw on film.  In a last-ditch effort to prove his worth to the recruit, Bacon suits up and plays for the local tribal team.  Bacon’s playing ability is below-average, but he’s a versatile actor (to say the least) who lends some credibility to a movie that has no other stars of note.  As the globalization of basketball continues to explode today, this was one of the first movies to show how cultures all over the world have adopted a game that first flourished here in the United States.

 

10. Go, Man, Go (1954)
ACTORS: Dane Clark, Pat Breslin, Sidney Poitier
PLAYERS: Reese “'Goose” Tatum, Nat “Sweetwater” Clifton, Marques Haynes
DIRECTOR: James Wong Howe (cinematographer for 134 movies between 1923 and 1975)
CAMEOS: Marty Glickman
This is a history of the most famous basketball team in the history of the sport.  The Harlem Globetrotters (an all-Black team) were created in 1927 by Abe Saperstein (their white manager).  I have not seen this in person (and probably never will, as it is not available on video), but it’s hard to go wrong with a director (Howe) and actor (Poitier) who both have Academy Awards in their trophy cases. 

 

You’re better off reading the book:
Heaven is a Playground (1991) by Rick Telander
A Season on the Brink (2002) by John Feinstein

 

You’re better off seeing a movie that’s actually about basketball:
Amazing Grace and Chuck (1987) is about nuclear weapons
Basketball Diaries (1995) is about drugs

 

You’re better off seeing a movie that’s actually good even if it doesn’t have a superstar:
The Fish That Saved Pittsburgh (1979): sorry Dr. J
Space Jam (1996): sorry MJ

 

You’re better off seeing a movie from the past 20 years:
One On One (1977)
That Championship Season (1982)