Basketball is an amazing game. Even the cinema couldn’t stop at the gate of basketball. Every fan knows that the game is full of drama and underdogs. There are plenty of great movies that involve the most bone-chilling moments not only of basketball but also the lives of its players.
The following information will tell you everything about the best basketball movies you should definitely watch. They will tell you about the will, failures, and big victories. They are must-watch films for every self-respecting basketball fan.

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Which movie is based on the game of basketball? Stop wondering and check the following selection of the best movies about basketball of all time right now. They are highly recommended for everyone who has a thing for basketball!
1. The Glory Road (2006) – IMDb RATING 7.2/10
The movie presented by Walt Disney Pictures and Jerry Bruckheimer Films is an American sports drama based on a true story. That movie is by James Gartner and the main cast is Josh Lucas.
The plot takes place in Texas in 1966. The coach decides that the team should consist only of black players and this setup shocks the society. His revolutionary decision caused a lot of discussions and much prejudice. On one hand, the team showed amazing results and performance. On the other hand, black players cause a lot of concerns and anger in a racist American society. Meanwhile, the coach leads his team to a victory.
«The incredible story of the team that changed the game forever» is the slogan of the movie. The Glory Road won the ESPY Awards as the best film about sports. It was also nominated for the Humanitas Prize Awards and the Black Reel Awards.
2. The Hoosiers (1986) – IMDb RATING 7.5/10
Although the movie is quite old, it is very up-to-date and interesting to all basketball fans. Regardless of its age, it is one of the greatest basketball movies of all time. The true story described in the movie happened not in 1951 but in 1954, actually.
This is an American true-story drama about a man who came to Indiana to become a teacher in middle school and planned to coach a local basketball team. The man has many years of coaching experience and is dreaming to come back into big sports.
The reality in a small town does not meet Dale’s expectations. Local citizens are not very friendly and just one guy can really play basketball in that school. However, he doesn’t have any wish to work with a new coach after the death of his previous coach.
Step-by-step, Norman manages to build a competitive team. Eugene Allen «Gene» Hackman, who played the leading role, was nominated for an Oscar.
3. The Basketball Diaries (1995) – IMDb RATING 7.3/1
The Basketball Diaries is one more American drama based on true big sports events. The story is based on an autobiographical bestseller by James Dennis Carroll. The leading role is played by Leonardo Di Caprio.
A 16-year-old boy lives in a poor district of New York and plays in a school basketball team with her friends. Jim creates quite decent poems and describes each step of his life in a diary. The guys are lonely, so they spend all of their lives in New York streets. No one is waiting for them at home.
The guys drink, smoke, attend strip bars, and try different drugs. Step-by-step, drug addiction wins and takes guys to prison and death. Jim tried heroin when he was only 13.
4. The Hurricane Season (2009) – IMDb RATING 6.6/10
The Hurricane Season is another dramatic biopic tells us about the events that took place in 2006 in a small town of Louisiana. Just in 2005, the town suffered from the Katrina hurricane. A basketball coach, Collins, comes to the small city. He is dreaming of creating a new sports team consisting of the students of schools destroyed by the hurricane.
Collins collects students from five high schools and tries to create a united team to participate in the national championship. The most important thing is that the coach returns their self-confidence.
The movie was made on real sports grounds. Partially, the scenes were made on the Fogelman Arena that was built back in 1933. A lot of important political and sports events took place there. Barack Obama presented his speech at the Fogelman Arena in 2008.
5. Coach Carter (2005) – IMDb RATING 7.3/10
This drama produced by Germany and the USA is full of the star cast. Samuel L. Jackson, Rob Brown, Rick Gonzalez, Channing Tatum, Ashanti, and many others are a wonderful bonus to that amazing plot. The movie was produced by Thomas Carter in 2006.
The main character Ken Carter (Samuel L. Jackson) is a coach of a school basketball team and a former basketball player. He achieves amazing results and wins one match after another one.
During the peak of the season, the coach doesn’t let the players in the sports hall because of their low academic results. They forfeit because they do not participate in two games in a row. The coach is a stone though. Until they boost their academic results, they should not play.
The case raised a wave of controversy among the parents and school board but eventually, the coach reached his goal. «It begins on the street. It ends here» is the slogan of the movie.
If you are a big basketball fan and are looking for good basketball inspiring movies, this selection should be on your must-watch list!