Are you a basketball fan or know any basketball fans that strive to watch anything and everything related to the sport? Then I have some of the best basketball movies Netflix, Amazon Prime, and Disney+ for you and that b-ball fan in your life. Some of these basketball movies in 2023 include basketball documentaries on Netflix, basketball movies based on true stories, funny basketball movies, basketball comedy movies, and even kids basketball movies. Check out this list of the best basketball movies on Netflix 2023.
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Best Basketball Movies on Netflix 2023
The Last Dance (2020)
Plot: The 10-part documentary films series provided an in-depth look at the Chicago Bulls’ dynasty through the lens of the final championship season in 1997-98.
Star Cast: Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen, Phil Jackson
Hustle (2022)
Plot: Hustle a Netflix original that tells the story of Bo Cruz, a talented international basketball prospect with NBA dreams — leading many to wonder if Bo Cruz is a real person and who Hustle is based on.
Star Cast: Adam Sandler, Stanley Sugerman, Juancho Hernangomez
The Redeem Team (2022)
Plot: The U.S. Olympic Men’s Basketball team travel to the 2008 Beijing Olympics to embark on a quest for the coveted gold medal that eluded them four years prior and make history for the team.
Star Cast: Lebron James, Carmelo Anthony, Kobe Bryant
Last Chance U: Basketball (2021)
Plot: “Last Chance U” hits the hardwood in East Los Angeles as a basketball coach with strong convictions leads young men who hope to fulfill major college potential. Watch all you want. Greg Whiteley, the Emmy-winning creator of “Cheer” and “Last Chance U,” pivots to basketball with this sports docuseries.
Star Cast: Dezmond Washington, Rob Robinson, John Mosley
High Flying Bird (2019)
Plot: When an NBA lockout sidelines his hot-shot rookie client, a sports agent pitches a bold plan to the young basketball player that will hopefully save their careers. Directed by Steven Soderbergh.
Star Cast: Melvin Gregg, Andre Holland, Zazie Beetz
Untold: Malice At The Palace (2021)
Plot: Untold: Malice at the Palace is a 2021 American documentary film made for Netflix and directed by Floyd Russ. The film is the first installment in the nine-part Untold documentary film series that features teams such as the Detroit Pistons and the Indiana Pacers.
Star Cast: Jermaine O’Neal, Reggie Miller, Metta Sandiford-Artest
Amateur (2018)
Plot: A gifted college basketball player struggles to fit in with his new team at an elite prep school where he is confronted by corruption and greed.
Star Cast: Michael Rainey Jr., Tekola Cornetet, Josh Charles
Tony Parker: The Final Shot (2021)
Plot: The life and career of basketball player Tony Parker, from growing up in France to finding success in the NBA, to recovering from a torn quad.
Star Cast: Kobe Bryant, Thierry Henry, Tim Duncan
One In A Billion (2016)
Plot: In a country of 1.2 billion people and in a sport with billions of fans worldwide, there has yet to be a single Indian-born player drafted in the NBA. One in a Billion follows the global journey of Satnam Singh Bhamara from his home of Ballo Ke, a farming village in rural India, to the bright lights of New York City as he attempts to change history. Building up to a climactic draft night after years of hard work, Satnam hopes to finally create the long-awaited connection between India and the NBA.
Star Cast: Satnam Singh Bhamara, Adam Silver, Mark Cuban
The Rise And Fall Of AND1 (2022)
Plot: Inspired by New York City streetball, influential brand AND1 turned local legends on the court into international icons. So why did it come to an end?
Star Cast: Grayson Boucher, Rafer Alston, Luis Da Silva Jr.
Kuroko’s Basketball (2012)
Plot: For the last three years, Teikou Middle School has dominated the national basketball scene with its legendary lineup: the “Generation of Miracles.” It consisted of five prodigies who excelled at the sport, but a “Phantom Sixth Man” lurked in the shadows and helped earn the team their revered status.
Star Cast: Kensho Ono, Yuki Ono, Daisuke Ono
Best Basketball Movies On Amazon Prime & Disney+
Other than the list of the best basketball movies on Netflix 2023, there are some other good movies on the sport on numerous other streaming services that are worthy of a watch.
Space Jam (1996)
Plot: Swackhammer, an evil alien theme park owner, needs a new attraction at Moron Mountain. When his gang, the Nerdlucks, heads to Earth to kidnap Bugs Bunny and the Looney Tunes, Bugs challenges them to a basketball game to determine their fate. The aliens agree, but they steal the powers of NBA basketball players, including Larry Bird and Charles Barkley — so Bugs gets some help from superstar Michael Jordan.
Star Cast: Danny DeVito, Billy West, Larry Bird, Charles Barkley, Michael Jordan
Coach Carter (2005)
Plot: In 1999, Ken Carter (a high school basketball coach) returns to his old high school in Richmond, California, to get the basketball team into shape. With tough rules and academic discipline, he succeeds in setting the players on a winning streak. But when their grades start to suffer, Carter locks them out of the gym and shuts down their championship season. When he is criticized by the players and their parents, he sticks to his guns, determined that they excel in class as well as on the court.
Star Cast: Samuel L. Jackson, Rick Gonzalez, Rob Brown
He Got Game (1998)
Plot: Jake Shuttleworth has spent the last six years in prison after accidentally killing his wife during a violent domestic dispute, leaving his son, a high school star basketball prospect from Coney Island, Jesus Shuttleworth, to fend for himself. One day, the prison warden approaches Jake with an unusual offer: He’ll be given a week of parole to convince Jesus to attend the governor’s alma mater, with the promise of a shortened sentence if he succeeds. The film was written, produced, and directed by Spike Lee.
Star Cast: Denzel Washington, Ray Allen, Ned Beatty
White Men Can’t Jump (1992)
Plot: Billy Hoyle is a white basketball court hustler who banks on black players underestimating his skills on the court. When he pulls one over on Sidney Deane, his victim sees a lucrative opportunity, and they become partners in the con game, plying their trade across the courts of Los Angeles. Meanwhile, Billy has to keep one step ahead of mobsters, to whom he owes money, while staying on the good side of his “Jeopardy!”-obsessed, motormouth wife.
Star Cast: Woody Harrelson, Wesley Snipes, Rosie Perez
The Way Back (2020)
Plot: Jack Cunningham was a high school basketball superstar who suddenly walked away from the game for unknown reasons. Years later, he’s now stuck in a meaningless job and struggling with alcoholism – the very thing that ruined his marriage and his hope for a better life. But Jack soon gets a shot at redemption when he becomes the basketball coach for old high school, a programme that has fallen on hard times since his teenage glory days.
Star Cast: Ben Affleck, Justice Alan, Janina Gavankar
Hoosiers (1986)
Plot: Failed college coach Norman Dale gets a chance at redemption when he is hired to direct the basketball program at a high school in a tiny Indiana town. After a teacher persuades star player Jimmy Chitwood to quit and focus on his long-neglected studies, Dale struggles to develop a winning team in the face of community criticism for his temper and his unconventional choice of assistant coach: Shooter, a notorious alcoholic.
Star Cast: Gene Hackman, Barbara Hershey, Dennis Hopper
Giants of Africa (2016)
Plot: The general manager of the Toronto Raptors creates a youth basketball programme in Africa.
Star Cast: Masai Ujiri
38 At The Garden (2022)
Plot: Point guard Jeremy Lin, an undrafted Harvard graduate, shocks fans, stuns his teammates and galvanizes Asians around the world during his landmark 2011-12 season with the New York Knicks and sparks the “Linsanity” craze.
Star Cast: Kobe Bryant, Jeremy Lin, Iman Shumpert
Glory Road (2006)
Plot: After being appointed the new coach of the 1966 Texas Miners, Don Haskins decides to build a team based on talent rather than race. The conservative townsfolk balk at the new racially diverse lineup despite the fact that the team is winning all their games. When black players like Bobby Joe Hill and team captain Harry Flournoy begin to dominate the court with flashy moves, the racial tension increases, jeopardizing the future of the basketball team. Based on a true story.
Star Cast: Josh Lucas, Derek Luke, Mehcad Brooks
Hoop Dreams (1994)
Plot: Every school day, African-American teenagers William Gates and High School basketball player Arthur Agee travel 90 minutes each way from inner-city Chicago to St. Joseph High School in Westchester, Illinois, a predominately white suburban school well-known for the excellence of its basketball program. Gates and Agee dream of NBA stardom, and with the support of their close-knit families, they battle the social and physical obstacles that stand in their way. This acclaimed documentary was shot over the course of five years.
Star Cast: Arthur Agee, William Gates, Emma Gates
The Carter Effect (2017)
Plot: Vince Carter, the 6-foot-6-inch eight-time NBA All-Star from Daytona Beach, Florida, makes waves in the Canadian basketball scene when he joins the Raptors in 1998.
Star Cast: David Stern, Steve Nash, Richard Peddie
Above The Rim (1994)
Plot: A high-school basketball star is torn by loyalties to a drug dealer and an ex-player.
Star Cast: Duane Martin, Tupac Shakur, Leon
Love & Basketball (2000)
Plot: Monica and Quincy McCall are two childhood friends who both aspire to be professional basketball players. Quincy, whose father, Zeke, plays for the Los Angeles Clippers, is a natural talent and a born leader. Monica is ferociously competitive but sometimes becomes overly emotional on the court. Over the years, the two begin to fall for each other, but their separate paths to basketball stardom threaten to pull them apart.
Star Cast: Sanaa Lathan, Omar Epps, Dennis Haysbert
Just Wright (2010)
Plot: Physical therapist Leslie Wright lands the dream job of working with basketball superstar Scott McKnight. All goes well until Leslie finds that she is falling in love with him. Scott, however, is oblivious to Leslie’s romantic overtures and focuses his attention on Morgan, Leslie’s gorgeous friend, who would love to be the basketball player’s trophy wife.
Star Cast: Queen Latifah, Common, Paula Patton
Rise (2022)
Plot: After emigrating from Nigeria to Greece, the Antetokounmpos struggle to care for their five children. The brothers play basketball with a local team and discover their great abilities on the court, eventually leading to the NBA draft.
Star Cast: Uche Agada, Dayo Okeniyi, Yetide Badaki
Teen Wolf (1985)
Plot: When high school nerd Scott Howard learns from his father, Harold, that being a werewolf runs in the family, he decides to take advantage of his freakish trait. With his newfound strength and agility, Scott quickly becomes the hero of his school’s basketball team while winning over longtime crush Pamela Wells. As he grows more popular, Scott worries he is being celebrated as a novelty rather than for who he is.
Star Cast: Michael J. Fox, James Hampton, Lorie Griffin
Finding Forrester (2000)
Plot: A unique relationship develops between an eccentric, reclusive novelist and a young, amazingly gifted scholar-athlete. After the novelist discovers that the young athlete is also an excellent writer and secretly takes him on as his protégé, they develop an unlikely friendship. As they learn more about each other, they learn more about themselves, and ultimately, with the help of his new mentor, the basketball star must choose the right path.
Star Cast: Sean Connery, Rob Brown, F. Murray Abraham
Blue Chips (1994)
Plot: Pete Bell is a college basketball coach who has to improve his team’s standing — by any means necessary. His hopes are pinned on a trio of talented players: Neon Boudeaux, Butch McRae and Ricky Roe. But in order to get them to sign to his school, Bell will have to illegally pay the players off. If he’s caught, it could destroy Bell’s coaching career and cast a cloud of shame over his team. Will he risk it all to win?
Star Cast: Nick Nolte, Shaquille O’Neal, Penny Hardaway, Matt Nover
Celtic Pride (1996)
Plot: Mike and Jimmy are disconsolate after watching their favorite team, the Boston Celtics, lose a game in the NBA finals. They hatch a far-fetched scheme to sabotage Lewis Scott, the star of the opposing team, who is known for his love of nightlife, by getting him very drunk — and thus too hungover to perform in the next game. After the two inadvertently kidnap the player instead, they dither about whether or not to release their captive.
Star Cast: Daniel Stern, Dan Aykroyd, Damon Wayans
Winning Time (2022)
Plot: In 1979, businessman Jerry Buss stakes his fortune on the purchase of the NBA’s lackluster Los Angeles Lakers; the team’s coach, Jerry West, bristles at the prospect of drafting college phenom Earvin Johnson, who has been given the moniker “Magic Johnson.”
Star Cast: Quincy Isaiah, Hadley Robinson, John C. Reilly
**This list of the best basketball movies on Netflix 2023 is constantly being updated as the programming changes. Drop me a line if you notice one that has been removed or added that deserves to be on the list.