The Best Basketball Movies

Alley oop! When it comes to hoops movies, here are some of  Hollywood's slam-dunks.

A footloose and fancy-free Kevin Bacon travels to Africa to recruit a star basketball player in this 1994 comedy.  Mmm… bacon.

Basketball superstar Michael Jordan teams up with Bugs Bunny and friends for a looney live action-animation comedy.  And that’s all, folks!

Gene Hackman plays a coach who helps a small-team win the state championship with the help of the town drunk.  Bet that guy knows how to “dribble.”

Wesley Snipes and Woody Harrelson star in this buddy comedy written by Ron Shelton, who also penned the sports movies Bull Durham and Blue Chips.  Now that's a winning streak!

Nick Nolte and Shaquille O’Neal star in this 1994 drama about a college basketball coach and a rising “blue chip” prospect.  Stack your blue chips on the Shaq.

They got game… and romance and drama in this 2000 feature starring Omar Epps and Sanaa Lathan.  Sounds like this game of one-on-one could lead to future players…

This acclaimed documentary follows two inner-city high school basketball players over a five-year period as they encounter life obstacles on their way to the big leagues.   Their dreams, while inspiring, are anything but a slam dunk.

The late Tupac Shakur stars in this 1994 feature about  high school basketball in Harlem.  Sounds like a real Harlem Shake-up.

A baby-faced Leo DiCaprio plays a teen basketball player who develops a heroin addiction in this adaptation of Jim Carroll’s autobiographical book.  Now that’s a foul shooter.

Dr. J, Meadowlark Lemon and Jonathan Winters star in this 1979 comedy about a struggling professional basketball team that seeks out astrological advice.  It’s a “sign” that the newly named Pittsburgh Pisces won’t flounder.

Will Ferrell, sporting an awesome ‘fro, stars in the 2008 sports comedy with Woody Harrelson and Andre Benjamin.  Who also have noteworthy hair.

Lil’ Bow Wow stars as a fourteen year-old who becomes an NBA superstar.  This movie was from 2002, so it might be worth noting that Lil’ Bow Wow just goes by “Bow Wow” now, thank you.

The story of a real-life basketball-playing dog.  And it’s hard enough to get dogs to stop drinking out of the toilet.

Before Taylor Lautner made wolves sexy in Twilight, Michael J. Fox was rockin’ the hirsute look in this 1985 film about a basketball-playing werewolf.  Rrrowr!

Based on a true story, this 2006 sports drama tells of the first all-black starting line-up which went on to win the 1966 NCAA Men’s Division 1 Basketball Championship.  Which was, in many ways, a real game changer.

A sixteen year-old plays basketball as a way into an exclusive prep school.  Along the way, he strikes up an unlikely friendship with Sean Connery who gets to say lines like, "You're the man now, dog!"

Denzel Washington stars as an imprisoned man whose teenage son is a top-ranked basketball prospect.  Written and Directed by Spike Lee, this drama also features NBA star Ray Allen as the young basketball star who is unsympathetic to his father's situation.  Which is unsurprising, since Denzel's character IS in jail for killing the boy's mother.