10 Best Basketball Movies of All Time

Basketball isn’t the most conducive sport for a motion picture. Boxing and baseball, with their blend of patience and action, hold the torch as the two best sports for movies. Basketball, though, has its share of winners, several of which have not been seen by enough people.

This is our attempt to fix that. Here are 10 hoops movies you should track down and, for our money, the 10 best hoops movies of all time.

10. The Way Back, 2020

One of the last movies to come out before the 2020 COVID pandemic in the United States shut down theaters across the country, “The Way Back” is accordingly underseen. Had the timing been 2021, more eyes would have been on it. But the timing is also part of what makes it great.

Ben Affleck plays a version of himself (he doesn’t, really, but) as the picture deals with a once-great talent whose life falls apart because of substance abuse. There’s no happy ending, but there is hope for a future.

9. Love & Basketball, 2000

If you put off watching “Love and Basketball” because it seems like a romance from the outside, get over it. Yes, it is a romance, but not in the traditional way.

Gina Prince-Blythewood’s 2000 movie was a landmark for its time in portraying black Americans as something more than their tired stereotypes while also giving the female character the lead role and seeing the events of the flick through her eyes. Not to mention, the basketball scenes play better than they do in most other movies.

8. The Heart of the Game, 2005

Speaking of females and basketball, “The Heart of the Game” is a 2005 documentary that follows the Roosevelt High School girls basketball team in Seattle over the course of six seasons. The personalities get a chance to shine, especially coach Bill Resler and star forward Darnellia Russell.

It’s an insightful look at competition, adolescence, and role models, and never once feels forced or like the teenagers are cheesing for the camera.

7. White Men Can’t Jump, 1992

To be clear, this is the original 1992 version, not the 2003 debacle of a remake. As far as filmmaking goes, “White Men Can’t Jump” is…fine. Wesley Snipes may be an elite athlete, but he’s nowhere near believable as a basketball player, especially contrasted against the solid job he did selling himself as a professional baseball player in “Major League” three years earlier.

What makes this sing, though, is the rapport Snipes and Woody Harrelson have in the co-lead roles. There’s a reason the two made four movies together.

6. Hoosiers, 1986

Readers from Generation X or older probably aren’t going to appreciate “Hoosiers” seemingly low ranking. Understandable. The movie is great. Truly great.

Dennis Hopper’s performance as Shooter Flatch is among the best of his career, and Gene Hackman nails Coach Norman Dale, the kind of coach most high-school basketball players wish they had. It’s ranked No. 6 here because the story is still a direct hero’s journey and isn’t terribly deep. Awfully entertaining and heartwarming, though.

5. High Flying Bird, 2019

Another movie too few people have seen, “High Flying Bird” didn’t have a theatrical run in the United States, instead premiering directly on Netflix in 2019. Netflix’s propensity for putting subpar originals on its platform was already well established. Plus, this isn’t a movie that cares about on-court basketball.

No, Steven Soderbergh’s picture, shot completely with an iPhone, focuses on NBA agent Ray Burke (Andre Holland) as he navigates a lockout with his clients.

4. He Got Game, 1998