THE UNDISPUTED GUIDE TO PRO
H
IS
Y
BASKETBALL R O T
Basketball on Film
PLUCKY UNDERDOG
The Evolution of an Idea
DOCUMENTARY
Above the rim (1994)
SELLING
DRUGS
LYCANTHROPY
THE BASKETBALL DIARIES (1995)
TAKING
FO R M
E
R
I N DIANA PLAYER
TURNED DRUNK TURNED ROBBER
TEEN WOLF (1985)
AS DISTRACTION FROM
HIGH SCHOOL BASKETBALL TURNED SOCIOPATH
HOOP DREAMS (1994)
LOVE AND BASKETBALL (2000)
ROMANCE
OTHELLO REMAKE
THE PROWLER (1951)
O (2001)
HOOSIERS (1986)
INSTITUTIONAL
HOME OF THE GIANTS (2007)
PL
A
YE
COLLEGE BASKETBALL TE
D
STARRING
JANE FONDA A GHOST
STARRING SIDNEY POITIER
EMOTIONAL
EC
Campus CONFESSIONS (1938)
DIR
BETTY GRABLE
Tall Story (1960)
R POINT FIXING
BY
JA CK
N I C H O L SON
DRIVE, HE SAID (1971)
The Sixth Man (1997)
Go, Man, Go! (1954)
FANTASY
PRO BASKETBALL CROSS-DRESSING
DE
N
SAVES A BABY FROM A TIGER
N I S RODMAN
SAVES THE WORLD
JUWANNA MAN (2002)
DOUBLE TEAM (1997) SIMON SEZ (1999)
ABSURDITY TAKE OVER TEAM
SUPER FANS
152
TAKE PLAYER HOSTAGE
EDDIE (1996) CELTIC PRIDE (1996)
THE UNDISPUTED GUIDE TO PRO BASKETBALL HISTORY
MOTHERLY LOVE
INNER-CITY TEAM SAVED BY
A GOLDEN RETRIEVER
SU
B
U
TOUGH LOVE
R B AN TEAM SAVED BY
A SASQUATCH A LEPRECHAUN WRITING SINGING AND DANCING
SCOUTING
ILLITERACY RACISM
SCIENTIFICALLY INFERIOR SHOES
Finding Forrester (2000) High School Musical (2001)
Blue Chips (1994) He Got game (1998) THE BASKETBALL FIX (1951)
ONE ON ONE (1977) GLORY ROAD (2006) THE ABSENT-MINDED PROFESSOR (1961)
STUCK IN AN IRON SUIT
STEEL (1997)
MAKE ERNEST DUNK
SLAM DUNK ERNEST (1995)
MAKE A CHILD DUNK
LIKE MIKE (2002)
AS OBNOXIOUS NBA REF AS Gheorghe Muresan’s AGENT FEATURING PLAYERS INSPIRED BY PLAYERS LOOKING FOR ENDORSEMENTS
LIKE MIKE 2 (2006)
SPACE JAM, 1996: By the time Jordan was ready to return to basketball after a brief stint in baseball’s minors, he was not simply an athlete. He was also a corporate entity who had some explaining to do. Space Jam provided MJ with a ready-fit narrative, justifying why he should return to the sport (to save the world from aliens), reaffirming his commercial clout (it grossed $2.3 billion), and making his baseball hiatus seem as forgettable as the movie itself (Bill Murray has called Space Jam his least favorite of his own films).
SPACE JAM (1996) FORGET PARIS (1995) MY GIANT (1998) THE FISH THAT SAVED PITTSBURGH (1979) SEMI-PRO (2008) THe COOKOUT (2004)
NETS STARS LOOKING FOR LOVE
Campus Confessions, 1938: One of the first basketball movies, and maybe the only one to originate a move, Campus Confessions costarred Stanford’s Hank Luisetti, an early proponent of the jump shot. During one scene, Luisetti dribbles the ball behind his back as a gag. After watching the film, eighteen-year-old high school senior Bob Davies was so inspired by Luisetti’s behind-theback dribble he began practicing it obsessively, and would eventually be credited with introducing it to the NBA. If you squint, that makes Luisetti the inventor of both the jumper and any and all behind-theback moves.
HARVARD MAN (2001)
KAZAAM (1996)
JORDAN VS. ALIENS
ABA
THE LUCK OF THE IRISH (2001)
STUCK IN A BOOM BOX
MAKE ANOTHER CHILD DUNK
BILLY CRYSTAL
BIG AND HAIRY (1998)
The Air Up There (1994)
TO BUY PARENTS A NEW HOUSE
MAGIC SHOES
AIR BUD (1997)
EAST AFRICA
TO BUY BROTHER A CHRISTMAS PRESENT
SHAQ
COACH CARTER (2005)
FAST BREAK (1979)
WITH PROSTITUTES
OVERCOMING OBSTACLES
Life imitates art, art justifies life, and Denzel schools Ray Allen.
THE STREETS
WITH TRACTORS
ILLEGAL RECRUITING
FACTS AND FICTIONS
SUNSET PARK (1996)
JUST WRIGHT (2010)
A TALE OF TWO THREE-PEATS
153
HE GOT GAME, 1998: The climactic scene pits ex-con father (Denzel Washington) against high school star son (Ray Allen) in a game of one-onone that will decide Dad’s fate in the justice system. The script called for a 15–0 drubbing, but then Denzel went and got a few buckets, and Ray Ray ended up having to dig in more than he had counted on. Of course, in the end Allen triumphed, but it’s a story he has never been able to shake.