The top 5 must-watch basketball movies of all time

#3 Hoosiers (1986)

Hoosiers

Hoosiers is a quintessential sports movie. It begins with the problems of a losing team, introduces a new coach, continues with the obligatory training sequences and personality clashes, arrives at the darkest hour and then heads towards victory in the end.

However, what makes Hoosiers special is not its story. It’s the details of the movie and the depth of the characters. The movie is about a small Indiana high school whose basketball team, the Hickory Huskers, make a comeback. They aren’t the only ones who make a comeback though.

New mysterious coach Norman Dale (Gene Hackman) makes a comeback in his life along with a town drunk called Shooter (Dennis Hopper). Gene Hackman does an incredible job in doing justice to his character. There are a lot of wonderful elements to the story but in the end it comes off as a pure basketball movie. As a tribute to it, the Indiana Pacers recently wore the movie inspired, Hickory Jerseys for a few of their regular season games.

Here’s the trailer: