Top Ten Basketball Movies of All Time

[JasonEvans]

Jay Bilas posted this to twitter... have a look.

His list goes like this:

10. Love and Basketball
9. Coach Carter
8. Cornbread Earl and Me
7. The Fish That Saved Pittsburgh
6. Semi-Pro
5. Glory Road
4. One on One
3. White Men Can't Jump
2. He Got Game
1. Hoosiers

It is a fine list, but he left out some great ones. Mine would be:

10. The Fish that Saved Pittsburgh
9. Semi-Pro
8. Amazing Grace & Chuck
7. Glory Road
6. He Got Game
5. Uncut Gems
4. One on One
3. White Men Can't Jump
2. Hoop Dreams
1. Hoosiers

-Jason "if The Last Dance qualifies as a movie, then it slots in there right around #5" Evans

[uh_no]

Jay Bilas posted this to twitter... have a look.

His list goes like this:

10. Love and Basketball
9. Coach Carter
8. Cornbread Earl and Me
7. The Fish That Saved Pittsburgh
6. Semi-Pro
5. Glory Road
4. One on One
3. White Men Can't Jump
2. He Got Game
1. Hoosiers

It is a fine list, but he left out some great ones. Mine would be:

10. The Fish that Saved Pittsburgh
9. Semi-Pro
8. Amazing Grace & Chuck
7. Glory Road
6. He Got Game
5. Uncut Gems
4. One on One
3. White Men Can't Jump
2. Hoop Dreams
1. Hoosiers

-Jason "if The Last Dance qualifies as a movie, then it slots in there right around #5" Evans

wow...okay....SpaceJam????

And not to mention, AirBud? High School Musical?

[thedukeman]

wow...okay...SpaceJam????

And not to mention, AirBud? High School Musical?

Like Mike too?? The stones on these guys...

Edit: No one likes to talk about Calvin Cambridge's impact on amateurism and NBA draft eligibility

[Truth&Justise]

Are we counting documentaries? Because there are a number of fantastic 30 for 30s, like Once Brothers, I Hate Christian Laettner, and Survive & Advance.

[bundabergdevil]

Jay Bilas posted this to twitter... have a look.

His list goes like this:

10. Love and Basketball
9. Coach Carter
8. Cornbread Earl and Me
7. The Fish That Saved Pittsburgh
6. Semi-Pro
5. Glory Road
4. One on One
3. White Men Can't Jump
2. He Got Game
1. Hoosiers

It is a fine list, but he left out some great ones. Mine would be:

10. The Fish that Saved Pittsburgh
9. Semi-Pro
8. Amazing Grace & Chuck
7. Glory Road
6. He Got Game
5. Uncut Gems
4. One on One
3. White Men Can't Jump
2. Hoop Dreams
1. Hoosiers

-Jason "if The Last Dance qualifies as a movie, then it slots in there right around #5" Evans

Agree and big plus 1 on Hoop Dreams. That was a huge miss; amazing film. Disagree on Uncut gems; I wouldn't even have put that in my sourcing pool because wouldn't have thought of it as a basketball film!

[gam7]

Teen Wolf?

[gam7]

Are we counting documentaries? Because there are a number of fantastic 30 for 30s, like Once Brothers, I Hate Christian Laettner, and Survive & Advance.

Come Fly With Me

[CrazyNotCrazie]

Fast Break?

There are so many more good baseball movies there are than basketball movies.

[DU82]

The Harlem Globetrotters (1951).

[dukee94]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blue_Chips

[SouthernDukie]

Darn! There have been a lot of basketball films. The only thing I’ll say for certain is that Hoosiers is definitely #1.

Another entry for everyone’s consideration:

The Pistol: Birth of a Legend

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Pi...th_of_a_Legend

[mkirsh]

Teen Wolf?

Clearly the best baller in any of the movies. The Wolf would destroy Jimmy Chitwood, Jesus Shuttlesworth, Wesley Snipes, any of the Monstars, or even Jordan. (What still kills me about that movie is when the bad guy fouls out but still stands under the basket glaring at Michael J Fox shooting free throws. I know we just had an actual werewolf doing 360s in a game an everyone being totally fine with a werewolf playing high school basketball and being like “well of course he’s good, he’s a wolf”, but I draw the line on believability with that fifth foul situation).

[AZLA]

Teen Wolf?

Heckyah!

“Shoot it, fat boy!”

[Nugget]

Fast Break?.

Yes! Totally ridiculous, but loved it.

And, of course, Hoop Dreams.

[JasonEvans]

Disagree on Uncut gems; I wouldn't even have put that in my sourcing pool because wouldn't have thought of it as a basketball film!

Yeah, I vacillated a lot on whether to include Uncut Gems, but arguably one of the top 3 or 4 characters in the movie is a NBA star who is playing himself and the whole film revolves around the NBA gambling habits of the main character.

If we remove it, Space Jam probably creeps into my top ten... it was between that and Teen Wolf.

I'm so sad more of you have not seen Amazing Grace and Chuck, which is another film where they talk a lot about basketball but very little basketball is actually played in the film.

-Jason "I do not think made for TV documentaries should count... we are talking about films with a theatrical release" Evans

[G man]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blue_Chips

Got to have blue chips!!!!

[lotusland]

I immediately thought of The Basketball Diaries but I’m a little dark.

[wsb3]

There are so many more good baseball movies there are than basketball movies.

It's early & I am only a half cup of coffee into the day but I think you are on the money with your statement.

[Billy Dat]

I'm so sad more of you have not seen Amazing Grace and Chuck, which is another film where they talk a lot about basketball but very little basketball is actually played in the film.

-This movie had the three finger protest salute way before the Hunger Games
-In the 80s, it was amazing how movies thought individuals could stop the entire cold war - this movie, Rocky 4, etc.
-Alex English - where was his Best Actor nomination?

[Billy Dat]

I think docs need their own category, as there are so many great ones.

I am surprised there is so much love for "One on One". I get the nostalgic kitsch appeal, but that movie is pretty bad. I guess it depends on how old you are, I have the same love for "Teen Wolf", especially the greatest coach since K, Bobby Finstock, whose life advice has steered me through some ambiguous times (his "3 rules" are right up there with "Coughlin's Laws" from 'Cocktail")

"Above the Rim" is a very popular one I haven't seen mentioned, I think it's pretty good. "High Flying Bird" is a newer entrant that I liked last year.

We should have a list for movies with prominent basketball scenes where the movie wasn't really about basketball:
-One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
-The Great Santini
-Meatballs
-Along Came Polly