10 Best Black Sports Movies

10. He Got Game

 

He Got Game is a 1998 sports-drama movie written and directed by Spike Lee. It stars Denzel Washington as Jake Shuttlesworth, a prison inmate convicted for murdering his wife. The father of the top-ranked basketball prospect in the country, Jesus Shuttlesworth (Ray Allen), Jake is released on parole for a week by the state’s governor in order to persuade his son to play for the governor’s alma mater in exchange for a heavily-reduced prison sentence.
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9.  Above The Rim

 

Above the Rim is a 1994 movie, starring Duane Martin, Leon, Tupac Shakur, and Marlon Wayans. The movie tells the story of a promising New York City high school basketball star and his relationships with two people; one a drug dealer and the other a basketball star now employed as a security guard at his former high school.
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8. Coach Carter

 

Coach Carter is a 2005 film from Paramount Pictures, directed by Thomas Carter. (The White Shadow)  The movie, based on a true story, stars Samuel L. Jackson as basketball coach Ken Carter. In the movie, Carter tries to teach his players that there’s more to life than basketball.  To show that he’s serious, he benches his undefeated team due to poor academic results.
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7. Hoop Dreams

 

Hoop Dreams is a critically acclaimed 1994 documentary film. It follows the story of two African-American high school students in Chicago and their dream of becoming professional basketball players. Originally intended to be a 30-minute short produced for the Public Broadcasting Service, it eventually led to five years of filming and 250 hours of footage. It premiered at the 1994 Sundance Film Festival where it won the Audience Award for Best Documentary. Despite its length (171 minutes) and unlikely commercial genre, it received high critical and popular acclaim. It was on more critics’ top ten lists than any other film that year, including Pulp Fiction, Forrest Gump, and The Shawshank Redemption.
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6. The Bingo Long Traveling All-Stars

 

The Bingo Long Traveling All-Stars & Motor Kings is a comedic sports movie about a team of enterprising ex-Negro League baseball players in the era of racial segregation. The movie stars Billy Dee Williams, James Earl Jones and Richard Pryor. The movie was produced by Berry Gordy and released by Universal on November 17, 1976.
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5. Love & Basketball

 

Love & Basketball is a 2000 romantic drama starring Omar Epps and Sanaa Lathan. It is the story of two next-door neighbors in Los Angeles, California who grew up loving basketball and, eventually, loving each other.
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4. Brian’s Song

 

 

Brian’s Song is a 1971 ABC Movie of the Week that recounts the details of the life of Brian Piccolo a white football player stricken with terminal cancer, and his friendship with African American Chicago Bears running back teammate and Pro Football Hall of Famer Gale Sayers (Billy Dee Williams), who helps him through the difficult struggle. The movie is based on Sayers’ account of his friendship with Piccolo and coping with Piccolo’s illness in Sayers’ autobiography, I Am Third. The production was such a success on ABC television (November 30, 1971) that it was later shown in theaters.
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3. When We Were Kings

 

 

When We Were Kings is a 1996 documentary film about the famous Rumble in the Jungle heavyweight championship match between Muhammad Ali and George Foreman held in Zaire on October 30, 1974. It highlights Muhammad Ali’s trademark wit and charisma, as well as his superb skill in the ring during the fight itself.
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2. White Men Can’t Jump

 

White Men Can’t Jump is a 1992 film starring Wesley Snipes and Woody Harrelson as basketball hustlers. The movie, which co-stars Rosie Perez, is enjoyable and quite entertaining, especially during the basketball scenes.
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1. Remember The Titans

 

 

Remember the Titans is a sports drama released in 2000. This wonderful movie stars Denzel Washington as Coach Herman Boone.  The movie, based on a true story, centers around the newly integrated T. C. Williams High School in Alexandria, Virginia. The black and white members of the football team clash in racially-motivated conflicts on a few occasions while at football camp, but after forceful coaxing and team building efforts by Coach Boone, the team achieves both harmony and success.