DRIVE Basketball :: DRIVE Culture : Top 5 Movies

DRIVE'S TOP 5 BASKETBALL MOVIES OF ALL TIME

1. Hoop Dreams:

This documentary is a must see for everyone out there who claims to be true basketball fanatic. It follows the lives of two aspiring ballers, William Gates and Arthur Agee, through they’re high school years as they follow the long shot dream of making it to the NBA. What makes this film unique is the fact that its not just about basketball, it goes much deeper. It’s a story of overcoming huge obstacles, and living in poverty and surviving. It gives people who aren’t that familiar with it, a glimpse into life in the inner city, and allows us to realize that the problems that we may have day to day maybe just aren’t that bad after all. I’ve seen many great basketball movies but none of them inspired me the way Hoop Dreams did, and that is why it is ranked number one on our list.

2. He Got Game:

This Spike Lee flick is pure cinematic and basketball genius. The story is loosely based around Coney Islands finest himself Stephon Marbury, as it traces the life of the nations most sought after basketball superstar, played by Ray Allen, as he attempts to make his college decision while balancing the raising of his younger sister all by himself. The fact that Denzel Washington is in this movie pushes it over the top as he does a brilliant job of portraying Allen’s imprisoned father who gets out in an attempt to sway his son’s decision in return for a reduced sentence. Although the basketball sequences are tight, the movie is more about the issues that surround top level athletes in this day and age. It brings to light the stereotypes of the college athlete, the corruption of college athletics and the politics behind sports. Because of this, He Got Game is a movie that you don’t have to be a huge basketball fan to enjoy. We also enjoyed the John Wallace cameo, or was that Lazarus Simms?

3. Blue Chips:

This college based movie stars Nick Nolte as the head coach of Western University who finds himself taking drastic steps when faced with the possibility of having his first ever losing season. Blue Chips is sick for one reason, the hoops. Penny Hardaway (Good Penny, when he still had a shoe deal Penny), and Shaquille O’Neal take part in some of the most realistic basketball scenes ever put in a movie. Personally, my favorite part was when they go to scout Penny at his local high school and he makes a barrage if nice jumpers (sometimes we forget how nice he was). If you like realism this one is as good as it gets as it combines the excitement and the dark side of college hoops.

4. Above the Rim:

This movie takes place in New York and centers around 2 main characters each battling their own demons. Thomas Sheppard is a former high school basketball star now haunted by the death of his best friend, while Kyle Watson is a budding but selfish young superstar with aspirations of attending Georgetown. Tupac delivers a powerful role as the street-wise younger brother of Sheppard, who begins taking Kyle under his wing. The plot to this movie is very real as it captures the trials of a young player and all the distractions that he must endure in order to reach his goals. The basketball scenes however, are up and down. They constantly use the same plays from different camera angles, and we can all tell that the rim’s are lowered. But the energy of the street ball angle is something that no other movie has been able to capture as well as Above the Rim.

5. Hoosiers:

One of the classic movies of our time and not only in a basketball sense. In this flick, Gene Hackman stars as a disgraced college basketball coach who ends up leading his small town Hickory Huskers basketball team to the Indiana state high school finals. A strong performance is also delivered by Dennis Hopper as he plays the alcoholic father of one of the teams key players. What keeps this movie from rising higher on our charts is that fact that it’s old school. It’s not as easy for kids of our generation to Identify with the basketball. But it is a quintessential feel good American movie. Much like the movie Rudy is to football, Hoosiers is to basketball.

Movies that we don’t even recommend you burn:

Eddie, Celtic Pride, Sixth Man, like Mike and Slam Dunk Ernest.