The top 5 must-watch basketball movies of all time

Michael Jordan and Bill Murray alongside Bugs and Lola Bunny in arguably the most famous basketball movieThe glamour and excitement of basketball if often so inspiring, that even Hollywood can’t resist turning it into reel life. With that in mind, we’ve taken up providing you with the list of the best basketball movies of all time.To be clear; when we say best, we do not mean Oscar winning or drama-heavy; we mean best in the sense of how these movies make you fall in love with basketball all over again. Movies that perhaps make you root for the protagonist and jump out of your seats during the climax. Movies that make you smile and feel inspired as a basketball fan.We haven’t included basketball documentaries (eg: Linsanity, More than a Game, The Fab Five and Hoop Dreams) and laid focus primarily on movies this time.Honorable mentions include Michael Jordan’s Space Jam and the equally inspiring Glory Road.

#5 Like Mike (2002)

Like Mike is an adorably cool 2002 comedy where a 14-year old orphan boy finds a pair of sneakers which have the letters MJ faded on them. The sneakers are believed to be the great Michael Jordan’s which provide this young boy with incredible basketball powers including the ability to dunk over basketball greats like David Robinson.

He gets drafted into the NBA and plays for a fictional team called the Los Angeles Knights. The most awesome part about this movie is that a lot of NBA greats like Vince Carter, Dirk Nowitzki, Allen Iverson and Jason Kidd, star in it as themselves playing against this boy with the MJ sneakers. Although this is a slightly kiddish movie, it is guaranteed to bring a smile to every 90s and 00s basketball fan.

Here’s the trailer:

#4 He Got Game (1998)

Jake Shuttleworth (Denzel Washington) is a man who spent 6 years in prison for killing his wife accidently during a family dispute, leaving his son Jesus Shuttleworth (Ray Allen) to fend for himself. Jesus is now a star college basketball prospect and colleges are lining up to accept him.

Jake’s warden comes up to him and hands him a unique deal. He promises that if Jake succeeds to convince his son to attend the Governor’s old college, the sentence will be reduced. Jake receives a week of parole to convince his son; during which they also reminisce the years before prison when Jake used to be very hard on Jesus on the court (which has been one of the primary reasons why Jesus now plays at that level).

Spike Lee’s direction does its magic making sure there’s never a dull moment in the movie. Ray Allen is still referred to as Jesus Shuttleworth by his close ones; it was also on his back when the Miami Heat decided to make nickname jerseys a few years ago.

Here’s the trailer:

#3 Hoosiers (1986)

Hoosiers is a quintessential sports movie. It begins with the problems of a losing team, introduces a new coach, continues with the obligatory training sequences and personality clashes, arrives at the darkest hour and then heads towards victory in the end.

However, what makes Hoosiers special is not its story. It’s the details of the movie and the depth of the characters. The movie is about a small Indiana high school whose basketball team, the Hickory Huskers, make a comeback. They aren’t the only ones who make a comeback though.

New mysterious coach Norman Dale (Gene Hackman) makes a comeback in his life along with a town drunk called Shooter (Dennis Hopper). Gene Hackman does an incredible job in doing justice to his character. There are a lot of wonderful elements to the story but in the end it comes off as a pure basketball movie. As a tribute to it, the Indiana Pacers recently wore the movie inspired, Hickory Jerseys for a few of their regular season games.

Here’s the trailer:

#2 White Men Can\'t Jump (1992)

This 1992 basketball classic stars Woody Harrelson and Wesley Snipes showcasing an intriguing contrast between balling cultures. In the clash of looking good and losing vs. looking bad and winning, the duo run a hustling racket in the state by having other players underestimate Harrelson’s skills.

The story revolves around their financial issues and their respective love lives. Over the course of the film we realize just how apt the title really is. A must watch basketball movie since it brings out two different styles of playing the game.

Here’s the trailer:

#1 Coach Carter (2005)

Samuel Jackson a.k.a. Coach Ken Carter, in this 1999 sports flick, returns to his old high school in Richmond, California to assume the coaching position for the Richmond Oilers. Knowing the importance of discipline, structure and education in life, he brings his principles on the court with him and makes each player sign a contract to maintain their grades, wear dress shirts and ties on gamedays, attend their classes and respect everyone and himself by calling them ‘Sir’.

The disciplinary aspect of his coaching combined with his emphasis on basketball fundamentals like conditioning, defense and team ball makes him the coach that those young minds desperately need.

To show how serious he is, he locks downs the gym when the players fail to meet their academic criteria. If only we had more coaches like him! Make sure you don’t miss this amazing movie. There’s a reason it tops our list.

Here’s the trailer: