Tuesday, November 3, 2009

Best Basketball Movies of All Time


When I was 14 or 15 years old, I was introduced to a musical genius who would come to define my youth: R. Kelly.

Kelly sang the theme song to Space Jam, "I believe I can fly." Mixing animation and real footage, Space Jam was forgettable, but the song prompts me to ask a question: What have been the best basketball movies of all time?

The conventional answer, the easy answer, is Hoosiers.

I like one better: Blue Chips.

Blue Chips captured some of the flavor of college basketball in the early 1990s. Outrageous recruiting efforts and the tension between going college and going pro are both all well characterized in the film. Nolte's anger and the moral high-ground he assumes make for outsanding drama.


Thanks to HBO--I've seen the film at least a half dozen times...and it's still enjoyable.

Some other good ones: "Final Shot: The Hank Gathers Story," "Coach Carter," "White Men Can't Jump." Not sure I can think of many others. Dikembe Mutumbo had one produced by Disney...that had memorable commercials...but never really made much of an impact.

What are your thoughts, fellow bloggers and readers?

4 comments:

Bhel Atlantic said...

Blue Chips was great. So was "He Got Game", starring Denzel Washington and Ray "Jesus Shuttlesworth" Allen.

EarlDaGoat said...

The best basketball movie of all time is Rebound: The Legend of Earl the Goat Manigault

Hari said...

Nick Nolte is one of the best actors of all time.

Unknown said...

Above the Rim is one of my top movies of all time.