The 15 Best Basketball Movies Ever Made, Ranked

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Within every game of basketball, you get it all: Fast-paced action, big-time plays, heart-stopping drama, not to mention the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat. Over the course of a season, too, there’s even more drama, as teams jockey for first place in the hopes of taking a championship trophy back to their school or city, where they’re greeted as heroes.

Of course, some of the best stories involve the underdogs, those players and teams that nobody thought had what it took to come out on top, but managed to do so against all odds. Indeed, no matter what kind of story unfolds on the court, the game of basketball always seems to make for a compelling story when it comes to the big screen. Over the years, Hollywood has used the game as a springboard to tell all kinds of powerful stories, and many have gone on to become movie classics, both in the genre of sports movies and cinema in general.

For example, one of the first-ever basketball films, “The Fair Co-Ed,” saw Marion Davies playing a young woman who defies the odds to play alongside the men on a basketball court. The barnstorming team “The Harlem Globetrotters” even got their own film in 1951, starring Academy Award-winner Dorothy Dandridge. But if you want to know which is the best of the best, look no further, because this is a list of the 15 greatest basketball movies ever made.

After “Growing Pains” but before “Titanic,” Leonardo DiCaprio was trying to be taken seriously as a dramatic actor, and “The Basketball Diaries,” with its adult themes, demanded that people take him seriously. In the film, he plays Jim Carroll, a budding high school basketball star whose life falls apart under the weight of overwhelming expectations. The young athlete descends into a world of drugs that threatens to derail more than just his athletic career.

Based on a true story and adapted from the memoirs of the real Jim Carroll, “The Basketball Diaries” is less about basketball itself and more about the importance of the game as a stabilizing force in troubled times. Though it didn’t win DiCaprio any awards, it did showcase his considerable talent and demonstrate his ability to be much more than a child sitcom star.

Cast: Leonardo DiCaprio, Lorraine Bracco, Ernie Hudson

Director: Scott Kalvert

Runtime: 1hr 42min

Rating: R

Rotten Tomatoes Score: 45%

Where to Watch: The Roku Channel

The definitive basketball movie for an entire generation of kids, “Space Jam” made the absolutely bonkers choice to mash together the greatest living basketball player — in the prime of his career — with the wacky cartoon heroes from “Looney Tunes.” On paper, it might sound like a farce. But it’s also a mild stroke of genius.

In “Space Jam,” a group of aliens arrives from outer space to kidnap Bugs Bunny so he can serve as a theme park attraction on their home planet. The Looney Tunes, however, offer up a challenge to the aliens, daring them to a game of basketball to decide Bugs’ fate. And to defeat the aliens, they recruit several NBA stars, headlined by Michael Jordan himself. Combined with a memorable role for Bill Murray, it all makes for a tale of sheer lunacy that’s hard not to love.

Cast: Michael Jordan, Wayne Knight, Theresa Randle

Director: Joe Pytka

Runtime: 1hr 28min

Rating: PG

Rotten Tomatoes Score: 43%

Where to Watch: Amazon Prime

A mix of sports drama and crime comedy, “White Men Can’t Jump” is hard to classify. The film introduces Billy Hoyle (Woody Harrelson), a talented white basketball player who, along with his girlfriend Gloria (Rosie Perez), is being pursued by gangsters to whom he owes a sizable gambling debt that he’s been dodging for some time. Gloria plans to earn big money by getting on the TV game show “Jeopardy,” while Hoyle uses his basketball skills to earn cash on the streets of Los Angeles.

A former college basketball star, Hoyle spends his days conning unsuspecting ballplayers by fooling them into thinking he can’t play the game. But after his latest mark, Sidney Deane (Wesley Snipes), realizes that there’s potential for a lot more money by teaming up, the two set out to hustle bigger fish. With a strong script, a stellar cast, and a different kind of story than you might be used to for a basketball film, “White Men Can’t Jump” impresses with clever comedy and plenty of basketball drama, though you can skip the awful 2023 remake.

Cast: Wesley Snipes, Woody Harrelson, Rosie Perez

Director: Ron Shelton

Runtime: 1hr 58min

Rating: R

Rotten Tomatoes Score: 75%

Where to Watch: Starz

There are few things better than a good underdog story, and “One on One” is among the better basketball stories in that subgenre. Released in 1977, the film centers on Henry Steele (Robby Benson), a high school basketball star ticketed for stardom after he receives a full scholarship to Western University in L.A. But when he arrives, it’s a clash of cultures as Henry finds himself way in over his head.

With his star high school skills not translating to college ball, Henry struggles to adapt not just to the higher level of play, but also the vastly different and much harsher coaching style that prioritizes a “do or die” mentality. Complicating matters is his blossoming romance with his older tutor, Janet Hays (Annette O’Toole). To overcome it all, Henry must learn to trust in himself if he wants to be the star he was born to be.

Cast: Robby Benson, Annette O’Toole, G. D. Spradlin

Director: Lamonte Johnson

Runtime: 1hr 38min

Rating: PG

Rotten Tomatoes Score: 78%

Where to Watch: Tubi

Before his untimely death, rapper Tupac Shakur embarked on a Hollywood career and was gaining at least some measure of notice for films like “Poetic Justice” and “Juice.” But the film that really put him on the map in Tinseltown was the 1994 basketball drama, “Above the Rim.” 

The film begins with Kyle-Lee Watson (Duane Martin), a young and promising high school basketball star, awaiting news on whether he’ll get accepted for a scholarship to play basketball at Georgetown University, one of the most prestigious sports programs in the country. While hopes are high, he spends his final summer in his hometown preparing for a local basketball tournament, but must choose whether to play for his old friend and coach Mike Rollins, or local drug dealer Birdie (Shakur).

“Above the Rim” is a powerful story about the struggles of life in the inner city, where sports is sometimes the only way out — one way or the other. 

Cast: Duane Martin, Tupac Shakur, Leon Preston Robinson

Director: Jeff Pollack

Runtime: 1hr 37min

Rating: PG

Rotten Tomatoes Score: 50%

Where to Watch: Amazon Prime

Putting a unique twist on the basketball drama, “Believe in Me” is based on the novel “Brief Garland,” which in turn is inspired by the true story of a high school basketball coach in Oklahoma in the 1960s. In the film, we meet Clay Driscoll (Jeffrey Donovan), a talented coach who hopes to be put in charge of the boys’ basketball team at a local high school. But when another man gets the job, Driscoll is instead given the reins of the girls’ team.

Together with a group of kids that everyone underestimates, Driscoll manages to turn a team of inexperienced athletes into a winning squad. Notable for touching on such taboo ’60s issues as teen pregnancy and the struggles young women faced amid the burgeoning feminist movement, “Believe in Me” is a different kind of underdog story that focuses on the very different issues faced by girls in sports.

Cast: Jeffrey Donovan, Samantha Mathis, Doris Hargrave

Director: Robert Collector

Runtime: 2hr 11min

Rating: PG

Rotten Tomatoes Score: 60%

Where to Watch: YouTube

Also set in the 1960s, the sorely underrated “Glory Road” moves from high school to college basketball, exploring the journey of the 1966 Texas Western College team. An important moment for college sports, the team was, controversially at the time, comprised entirely of Black players, which didn’t make it easy when the rest of the country was embroiled in the Civil Rights movement and local leaders were grappling with how to deal with the issues of racism and equality.

The movie focuses on the team’s head coach, Don Haskins (Josh Lucas), who is brought in at the start of the season. When he arrives, much to his dismay, he discovers that he isn’t given much to work with. Determined to field the best team he can, he doesn’t care where his players come from — or what color their skin is — as long as they have the skills to play the game and win. 

Cast: Josh Lucas, Derek Luke, Jon Voight

Director: James Gartner

Runtime: 1hr 58min

Rating: PG

Rotten Tomatoes Score: 55%

Where to Watch: Disney+

One of the earliest great basketball films, 1975’s “Cornbread, Earl and Me” should be on the watchlist of anyone looking to learn not just about basketball, but about movie history. Because in addition to telling a dramatic coming-of-age story about three aspiring ballplayers, it’s also the debut film from the legendary Laurence Fishburne. The Academy Award-nominated actor plays Wilford Robinson, one of three young streetballers who witness a deadly crime.

Real-life NBA star Jamaal Wilkes is Nathaniel “Cornbread” Hamilton, an older kid with promising basketball skills who dreams of one day making it big on the court. But after a pickup game at a local basketball court ends early because of rain, the threesome winds up the target of crooked cops, who shoot Cornbread in the back. A film about the challenges of escaping systemic violence, “Cornbread, Earl and Me” is a troubling look at what life on the street is like for many people of color.

Cast: Moses Gunn, Madge Sinclair, Laurence Fishburne

Director: Joseph Manduke

Runtime: 1hr 35min

Rating: PG

Rotten Tomatoes Score: 86%

Where to Watch: Not available to stream

As the title suggests, “Love & Basketball” is a romantic drama and also a sports movie, exploring the decades-long relationship between Monica and Quincy, next-door neighbors who are both fighting to achieve their dreams of playing professional basketball. It begins when Monica and Quincy are children, when we see how their mutual love of basketball leads to a friendship — and eventually a childhood crush.

As the pair gets older, their relationship gets more complicated and they evolve into close friends, but one with unrequited feelings. As they hit the court on their respective high school teams, Monica and Quincy both prove themselves incredibly talented, and both are soon accepted into the same university. But what will happen to their friendship if only one of them ends up going pro?

Cast: Omar Epps; Sanaa Lathan; Alfre Woodard

Director: Gina Prince-Bythewood

Runtime: 2hr 0min

Rating: PG-13

Rotten Tomatoes Score: 85%

Where to Watch: Amazon Prime

Just two years after making his NBA debut, Milwaukee Bucks sensation Ray Allen took a detour to Hollywood to star in the 1998 Spike Lee joint, “He Got Game.” In the film, Allen plays Jesus Shuttlesworth, a young star whose father sits in prison on a lengthy sentence for the accidental death of Jesus’ mother. Jesus is a clear superstar on the rise, but is facing a choice of schools for his college career.

Behind bars, though, Jesus’ father Jake (played by Denzel Washington, who practiced every day for the role) is presented with a deal by the prison warden, who desperately wants Jesus to sign with a certain university. Offering Jake a suspended sentence if he succeeds, the warden agrees to allow Jake out of prison on a work release program if he can convince his son to attend the warden’s alma mater. It’s a powerful film about the choices we make and the complicated bond between a father and son. 

Cast: Denzel Washington, Ray Allen, Milla Jovovich

Director: Spike Lee

Runtime: 2hr 16min

Rating: R

Rotten Tomatoes Score: 80%

Where to Watch: Amazon Prime

Released in 2005, “Coach Carter” stars Samuel L. Jackson as the titular basketball head coach, Ken Carter, who has returned to his hometown of Richmond, California, to lead his old high school basketball team. He has bold new ideas for how to take the team to the next level, and at first, he succeeds beyond anyone’s expectations. But when some of the players begin failing classes off the court, he reconsiders what he’s really trying to achieve.

Determined to ensure that his team can win at basketball and in academics, Coach Carter takes it upon himself to play mentor and keep their grades up. While everyone around him is willing to sacrifice the players’ education for a chance at his players becoming superstars, Carter refuses to allow his students to lose sight of what really matters. Based on a true story, “Coach Carter” is an inspirational tale that sees Jackson at his dramatic finest, delivering a tour de force performance as the titular character.

Cast:  Samuel L. Jackson, Rob Brown, Ashanti

Director: Thomas Carter

Runtime: 2hr 16min

Rating: PG-13

Rotten Tomatoes Score: 64%

Where to Watch: Pluto TV

Many in the world of sports have been called the GOAT — the greatest of all time — be it Michael Jordan, Wayne Gretzky, or Muhammad Ali. Believe it or not, though, the first player to ever go by that moniker might actually be legendary hoopster Earl Manigault. He was a rising star in the 1960s who was the first to be referred to as the GOAT thanks to his unusual last name. And in 1996, HBO turned his story into one of the best basketball movies ever made — the GOAT of basketball TV movies, as it were.

Future “Avengers” star Don Cheadle leads the cast as Manigault, who is a teen basketball superstar on the streets of Harlem. There, Earl faces plenty of trouble that threatens to dim his promising basketball future, and risks ruining it all by getting involved with drugs. But when Manigault is swayed into attending a prep school by his basketball mentor, he meets Dr. McDuffie (James Earl Jones), who helps Earl get his life together to ensure a brighter future.

Cast: Don Cheadle, James Earl Jones, Loretta Devine, Forest Whitaker

Director: Eriq La Salle

Runtime: 2hr 0min

Rating: R

Rotten Tomatoes Score: 94%

Where to Watch: The Roku Channel

The 2020 film “The Way Back” puts Ben Affleck into a familiar role as a man with an alcohol problem. This time, he’s playing struggling iron worker Jack Cunningham, who’s down on his luck and barely holding things together when he gets a call out of the blue from his former Catholic high school. Because back in the day, Jack was the school’s star player, and he once had dreams of making it big in the pros. Now, with the school’s basketball team in dire need of help, they’re asking Jack to come back and become their new head coach.

But upon his return to his old stomping grounds, Jack is confronted with more complications than he expected, and must do more than turn around a flailing franchise. He’ll also have to confront ghosts from his past and come to terms with the path he took in life. A story of redemption on and off the court, “The Way Back” was hailed by critics as one of the best performances in Affleck’s long career.

Cast: Ben Affleck, Al Madrigal, Janina Gavankar

Director: Gavin O’Connor

Runtime: 1hr 48min

Rating: R

Rotten Tomatoes Score: 85%

Where to Watch: Tubi

Known for his comedy classics like “Billy Madison” and “Happy Gilmore,” Adam Sandler likes to veer into more serious fare every once in a while, and the results are usually spectacular. In 2022, he did so again, but this time it was a sports movie, the Netflix original, “Hustle,” and it didn’t disappoint. 

Here, Sandler plays Stanley Sugarman, a beleaguered NBA scout in Philadelphia who desperately wants to be a coach. Though he’s been working with a player from Spain, he suddenly becomes obsessed with recruiting Bo Cruz (real-life NBA big man Juancho Hernangomez), a troubled young man he meets in a chance encounter during a streetside game of pickup basketball. If he can convince Cruz to come to the United States, he hopes to use his coaching skills to make the budding star worthy of professional ball.

Cast: Adam Sandler, Queen Latifah, Juancho Hernangomez

Director: Jeremiah Zagar

Runtime: 1hr 57min

Rating: R

Rotten Tomatoes Score: 94%

Where to Watch: Netflix

Not just the best basketball movie ever made, “Hoosiers” could very well be one of the best sports movies ever, period. Starring Oscar-winner Gene Hackman at the height of his career, the film, as the title suggests, is set in Indiana, where the basketball team at Hickory High School is trying to defy the odds and make it all the way to the state championship finals.

Hackman plays Norman Dale, a former college basketball coach relegated to a small-town high school team after a fall from grace. Dale brings with him a controversial new approach that rubs many the wrong way, and scandal erupts when he hires a troubled alcoholic, Wilbur Flatch (Dennis Hopper), as his assistant coach. But the team slowly begins to gel under Dale’s leadership as they overcome the trials, tribulations, and setbacks of a long season. 

Set in arguably America’s biggest basketball region, “Hoosiers” is a remarkable film about the strength of the human spirit. It’s a universally beloved drama that influenced countless other sports movies that followed.

Cast: Gene Hackman, Barbara Hershey, Dennis Hopper

Director: David Anspaugh

Runtime: 1hr 54min

Rating: R

Rotten Tomatoes Score: 92%

Where to Watch: Hulu