Top 5 Basketball Films

Today's Top 5 list will be my all-time top 5 basketball themed films.  This genre is not as popular as one would think, but I found a few movies that I enjoyed enough to write about, and none of them is Coach Carter because that movie sucked.

#5-Love and Basketball
I recently saw this film and kind of enjoyed it.  Good story, but I did not like the female lead (played by Sanaa Lathan).  She was quite ugly and a bit evil which kind of scared me, and I couldn't help but think that Omar Epps could do a lot better than a woman basketball player who seemed to have more testosterone than myself.  I'm not saying women athletes are ugly, most of them are but that's not my point here, I'm just saying he belongs he could use some better looking female counterparts in his films.

#4-Space Jam
Everyone my age has seen and loved this film.  Michael Jordan teams up with Bugs Bunny to make the best Looney Tunes movie ever (there haven't been many).  Jordan has never acted since and probably will not after this 90's classic.

#3-Glory Road
This excellent Disney biopic tells the story of the 1966 Texas Western (now UTEP) men's basketball team who was the first team to start 5 African American players.  Disney has a knack of making good sports films and they don't disappoint here.  Josh Lucas gives a great performance as coach Don Haskins, who broke color barriers and took this team of minorities to a national championship.

#2-White Men Can't Jump
Woody Harrelson and Wesley Snipes make a great team as they hustle the streets of Venice Beach, California.  Harrelson of course plays the white guy who actually can jump.  Ron Shelton directs his second of 4 sports films, but not quite as good as his earlier work, "Bull Durham."

#1-Hoosiers
This is an obvious #1 and the main reason I chose this topic as my first Top 5.  I recently watched this again and realized how awesome it is.  Gene Hackman and Dennis Hopper give career defining performances is this film about a small Indiana high school who defies the odds and wins a state championship.  This film will stand the test of time and always be a sports film classic.

Honorable Mentions
The Basketball Diaries-I didn't pick this because it was about basketball as much as most other films in the genre, but Leonardo Dicaprio gives a great young performance
He Got Game-This Spike Lee joint gives a surprising performance from Ray Allen, but not good enough for me.
Semi-Pro-Undeniably funny, but bad movie makes it good enough for an honorable mention.

Again, Coach Carter sucks and will never make this list.