Basketball is a sport that’s practically built for the drama of movies. The fast-paced action is perfect for montages, and the tension of last second-heroics punctuated by the sound of a buzzer are all the makings of cinematic greatness. But not all hoops films are made equal. Some, in fact, are downright mediocre and others, while originally praised as brilliant, have fared worse over time than others.

There are plenty of basketball movies — whether they follow a team’s journey or use the game as the backdrop for the larger thrust of the film. But a good basketball movie needs to be well cast with a strong story, some realistic-looking game-play and maybe some classic moments and quotes that stand out to fans years later.

Having trouble sorting it all out? We’ve got you covered.

13) Semi Pro

There has to be a straight-up comedy on here with zero appetite for drama or anything but laughs, and Semi-Pro is it. The heyday of struggling basketball teams is ripe with comedy, and this Will Ferrell movie is criminally underrated in his overall comedic cannon. Ferrell as a player/coach/owner of an American Basketball Association team is a gem. This movie is not realistic in any way — Andre Benjamin of Outkast plays a prominent role — but it doesn’t have to be. Basketball in Flint, Michigan looks like a hell of a lot of fun in this one, and its enduring legacy is the occasional Tropics jersey you’ll see at an NBA game.

12) Hoosiers

Hoosiers needs to be on this list because it is regarded as a classic basketball movie. The Indiana Pacers have a Hickory High jersey that looks very cool. And Gene Hackman in a coaching role is always something to appreciate. But there is not a movie on this list that has aged worse than Hoosiers, a film made in 1986 and a film about an all-white small-town basketball team triumphing because they got one good player. In this particular movie, they are the good guys. But three decades later, it’s hard not to view the team they beat as the far more interesting story.

11) Coach Carter

High school basketball is ripe with stories that make for good movies. And making your entire team because they violated your academic agreement is a pretty compelling way to draw an audience in, right? This is one of those basketball movies where the team grows and changes as it gets better on the floor, teaching a lesson along the way. It’s fairly formulaic, but it tells a nice story. A sneaky highlight of this film is an appearance from a very young, extremely bald Channing Tatum. Another early highlight is Samuel L. Jackson, a high school basketball coach, getting challenged by one of the team’s better players to a fight. You can imagine how that goes, but that alone is worth a look, right?

10) Glory Road

Speaking of more interesting basketball stories, there is Glory Road, a Disney-fied version of Texas Western’s run to the men’s NCAA Championship Game in 1966. The 2006 film doesn’t nearly have the cult following of Hoosiers, but the true story is far more compelling and highlights an issue that basketball in that era certainly suffered from: racism. Texas Western’s run to the title game against Kentucky is given the proper weight it should, and Josh Lucas’ turn as The Bear, coach Don Haskins, is a worthy center for this underrated film.

9) The Way Back

A heavy film whose box office fortunes were impacted by COVID shutdowns that happened right as it was coming out, The Way Back demands a lot from its lead as Ben Affleck leans on some of his own experiences with the bottle to play a damaged alcoholic trying to find a rope in the dark and a way out of the hole that his life has become after being pummeled by loss. Basketball factors in as that rope, with Affleck’s former high school standout character finding renewed purpose as a fiery and sometimes unorthodox leader of young men.
8) Teen Wolf

Michael J. Fox is a teen who is also a wolf. I’m not sure what’s not to like here. His character, Scott Howard, turns into an extremely athletic mythical beast. This is a harmless, if not ridiculous classic. And there’s something to be said for that kind of movie getting made in 1985 and still being true today. This is definitely the most “cult classic” of the films listed here, but there’s a particular affection for this movie, which actually sparked an equally-ridiculous MTV show in 2011.

7) Space Jam

Listen: Space Jam is not really a great movie. When you take away the nostalgia for it and a banger of a soundtrack, much like The Mighty Ducks, the bones of the plot are a bit bare. But it’s hard to hate a movie that puts Michael Jordan and Bugs Bunny with equal billing on a movie poster. There’s a reason LeBron James has been hounded for years to make a sequel to this 1996 blockbuster: people love the idea of the best player in the game getting sucked into a cartoon vortex. If anything, it’s still the only logical explanation for Jordan deciding to play baseball for a few years.

6) Above The Rim

Above The Rim plays out as a battle for one young man’s soul, standing out as an excellent showcase for the acting talents of Tupac Shakur, whose character, Birdie, does his best to steer the film’s protagonist, Kyle (Duane Martin) off his course as a basketball prodigy with college ball in his future. The film is also a tremendous showcase for ‘90s hip-hop (due to its iconic soundtrack) and a film that aimed for authenticity when showcasing streetball culture.

5) He Got Game

Spike Lee’s ode to basketball is a classic. Denzel Washington’s turn as Jake Shuttlesworth is a great performance and a dynamic role, and an appearance from Ray Allen as his son, Jesus, is a fun surprise for those coming to the film for the first time. This is another movie that settles on a plot involving a five-star high school recruit, but the tale of Shuttlesworth coming to grips with his father’s incarceration for killing his mother is compelling and well-executed here. It’s not the apex of Lee’s or Washington’s career in cinema, but it’s certainly worthy of this list.

4) Blue Chips

Nick Nolte is a conflicted college basketball coach in this 1994 film that has some legendary performances from actual NBA players. Shaq and Penny Hardaway appear as players here, while Rick Pitino and Larry Bird pop up as well. Compared to the kind of scandals that have engulfed college athletics these days, getting a tractor pales in comparison. But the story here is strong, and it’s got some of the best actual basketball scenes out of any movie on this list.

3) Love And Basketball

Basketball is the thing that brings Sanaa Lathan and Omar Epps’ characters together and the thing that tears them apart in this smartly-executed, years-spanning love story from writer-director Gina Prince-Bythewood. Impeccably cast with familiar faces sprinkled in throughout, the film is careful to really examine the strains and isolation of both being a heralded athlete and someone who feels like no one else believes in their dreams. The pressures of living up to both your parent’s expectations and legacies is also explored, but while it sounds like a lot is going on, Love And Basketball doesn’t get bogged down, injecting enough gentle and intimate moments of connection that you never lose sight of the point or find yourself not rooting for the pair at the center of this story to get out of their own way and into each other’s arms.

2) Hoop Dreams

Maybe the best basketball documentary ever, filmmaker Steve James tells the story of two basketball prospects — William Gates and Arthur Agee — trying to launch basketball careers to get themselves out of inner-city Chicago. The movie follows both players for four years as they go through high school hoops, recruiting and school issues and try to stay on track despite the outside pressures of their lives. This film got an Oscar nod for best film editing, and pouring over all the footage of their stories to weave this one together into a cohesive picture certainly seems worthy. This is a must-see.

1) White Men Can’t Jump

This is a great basketball film that happens to be a lot of fun, playing around in the worlds of trash talk and pick-up ball while leaning heavily on the strength of the uneasy partnership between Wesley Snipes and Woody Harrelson’s characters (with Rosie Perez thrown into the mix to steal every scene she’s in, as per her usual) and the grift at the heart of that partnership. Everyone loves a film about a good grift and White Men Can’t Jump certainly delivers. Written and directed by sports movie master Ron Shelton, White Men Can’t Jump furthers the truth he also highlights in Bull Durham: that sports can be the foundation for truly great relationships, but the trick is in making those relationships interesting and entertaining.

Jessie Ware is making a pivot from soaring ballads to synth-heavy dancefloor bangers. She’s set the tone for her upcoming record, What’s Your Pleasure?, through a handful of revved-up singles. Now, just a day ahead of the record’s debut, Ware gives fans one last preview with the shimmering number “Soul Control.”

“Soul Control” opens with a clapping beat and rubbery keys before a funky bass guitar takes over. With her breathy vocals, Ware details the euphoria of dancefloor attraction. “Baby I see the future / It’s me and you / We got to stay in motion / Tell me what you want to do,” she sings.

In a 2018 interview with Billboard, Ware said she’s breaking into new territory with her upcoming album: “I feel really confident about the new music I’m doing. I don’t feel like I’m trying to impress or please anybody, I’m just making the music I feel like making. […] This whole new record is about fantasy and escapism. It’s for the fans who have been there for a start. It was funny seeing the comments from fans like, ‘At last! You’ve given us a groove, Jessie!’ It’s a record people can dance to or have sex to, I hope. […] I’m proud of everything I’ve done, but I needed some energy. I can sing ballads till the cows come home, but I also can do dance music, and it’s where I came from, so I just wanted to dip my toe back in that.”

Listen to “Soul Control” above.

What’s Your Pleasure? is out 6/26 via Virgin/Universal. Pre-order it here.

Venezuelan producer Arca is gearing up to release her latest enigmatic album, Kick I, which drops tomorrow. She has shared some fascinating advance looks at the record, one of them being “Mequetrefe.” Now she has offered a visual for the song, and unsurprisingly, it’s a surreal visual oddity.

Filming the clip was likely a straightforward affair, as the raw footage is just Arca singing the song in front of a blank wall, albeit with a handful of outfit changes. The footage doesn’t remain raw by any means, though, as her head and body become distorted along with the song’s percussive hits, exploding out from the center of her being as the track’s rhythm chugs along. It’s ultimately a clever way to create a visually interesting visual during the pandemic.

Arca previously explained that “mequetrefe” is a slang word she heard while growing up in Venezuela, which was used derogatorily towards men. Arca’s aim with the song was to reclaim the word and alter its meaning, saying, “The song ‘Mequetrefe’ invokes the tenderness behind expressing who you are without shame, and the confidence and bravery it requires, because expression of gender-nonconforming self-states in a public space can often result in static within your environment.”

Watch the “Mequetrefe” video above.

Kick I is out 6/26 via XL. Pre-order it here.

Even before HBO announced that it’s developing a series for the the award-winning video game The Last of Us, fans have been feverishly hoping that Josh Brolin would play the main character Joel in an eventual adaptation of the post-apocalyptic adventure. And, now, Troy Baker, who voices Joel in the game and its sequel, is sharing his thoughts along with a surprising anecdote about how he personally pitched the character to Brolin just as first The Last of Us was getting ready to storm the gaming industry.

While sitting down with the Collider Games Podcast, Baker said that he hopes to see an actor who can take Joel to the next level, “What I’m excited about is finding someone that can give me a completely different side of Joel, and show me how far that character can stretch.” One of the actors he has in mind is Brolin, and Baker even went so far as to personally approach Thanos himself at the airport and tell him that if he ever gets the chance, take the part.

“I remember being at LAX [Airport] and Josh Brolin was there, we were in the lounge together, and I walked up. I was like, ‘Man, I doubt you remember this, but you and I were doing a movie.’ He was doing No Country [for Old Men], and I was doing a western. And I was like, ‘You and I met, we had drinks this one night, we had a good night.’ He was like, ‘I think I remember that,’ and I was like, ‘I doubt you do, because I know how much we all had to drink.’ I said, ‘There is a game that’s coming out. And I want you to know that, for me, so much of your work was very influential.’ And he really, really was. And I was like, ‘If you ever get the call for a character named Joel, I would be honored and I think you would be enriched to play that character.’”

Baker went on to call Brolin a “knockout choice” for Joel, but he also reiterated his stance that, more than anything, he just wants to see the character branch out in new directions. The Last of Us is currently in development for HBO from Chernobyl creator Craig Mazin.

(Via Collider)

Before the pandemic hit, Pearl Jam had big plans for 2020. Before the veteran group released their album Gigaton back in March, they were set to embark on a massive world tour and even perform at Eddie Vedder’s curated music festival, Ohana Fest. Both Pearl Jam’s world tour and festival appearances have since been scrapped due to the pandemic, but the group still wanted to offer fans an uplifting performance.

Pearl Jam reunited virtually for a benefit performance of their Gigaton track “Dance Of The Clairvoyants” on Wednesday. The group’s rendition was a part of the coronavirus benefit concert All In WA: A Concert For COVID-19 Relief and it marked the first time they played the song for an audience.

Pearl Jam members performed the song from their respective homes. Even with the distance, Pearl Jam managed to bring infectious energy. In the spirit of experimentation, Pearl Jam guitarist Stone Gossard switched to bass while bassist Jeff Ament tried his hand on the keys.

The “Dance Of The Clairvoyants” rendition was just one part of the All In WA benefit concert. Along with Pearl Jam, Washington-based musicians like Macklemore, Brandi Carlile, Ciara, Ben Gibbard, The Black Tones, Dave Matthews, and Sir Mix-A-Lot offered performances of their hit songs.

Watch Pearl Jam perform “Dance Of The Clairvoyants” above.

Gigaton is out now via Monkeywrench. Get it here.

You might have missed it in the ongoing torrent of near constant bad news and new content, but Compton rapper Buddy teamed up with his — ahem — buddy Kent Jamz of Crenshaw-based hip-hop quartet Overdoz to release a truly enjoyable joint mixtape, Janktape, Vol. 1, this spring. Forunately, the two friends put out a new video for their song “Bad Boys” today to bring attention to the tape and show off their laid-back chemistry and stoned humor.

The video takes inspiration from other popular weed culture duos, including Beavis & Butthead, Cheech & Chong, and Sean and Marlon Wayans, whose classic 1990s gangsta movie spoof Don’t Be A Menace To South Central While Sippin’ Your Juice In The Hood gets a scene in “Bad Boys” along with its inspiration, Friday. Buddy and Kent also do a serviceable rendition of an iconic scene from Pulp Fiction, a rowdy, post-basketball-championship-winning press conference, and a hilarious ode to the promotional poster of Step Brothers. And if you’re wondering whether they pay homage to the film franchise for which the song is named — come on, you know they recreate a shootout from Bad Boys, complete with a cameo from their partner in rhyme (and humor) Guapdad 4000.

Buddy and Guapdad also popped up together in another video earlier this year: Dreamville’s “Don’t Hit Me Right Now” alongside Bas, Cozz, and Yung Baby Tate. Meanwhile, Buddy recently spoke to ongoing protests with his “Black 2” single.

Watch the video for “Bad Boys” above and check out Janktape, Vol. 1 here.

The Dallas Mavericks won’t have Willie Cauley-Stein when they enter the NBA’s bubble league in Orlando. According to Shams Charania of The Athletic, Cauley-Stein has decided to join the list of players who will not suit up when the league goes to Disney World, with Charania mentioning that his decision is driven by the fact that his partner is expecting a child sometime next month.

Cauley-Stein joined Dallas at the trade deadline following starting center Dwight Powell tearing his Achilles. In 54 games this season with the Mavericks and the Golden State Warriors, Cauley-Stein averaged 7.2 points, 5.8 rebounds, and 1.1 blocks in 20.3 minutes per game.

This isn’t the only news about the Mavericks’ roster from Thursday. In a move that was floated earlier in the day by Tim MacMahon of ESPN, Charania reports that Dallas will add former Sixers guard Trey Burke to its bench.

Burke would, theoretically, fill a role as a guard off the bench left by Jalen Brunson, who suffered a shoulder injury back in February and has already been ruled out of suiting up for the team in Florida. He’s also familiar with the Mavericks, having played for them in 25 games at the end of the 2018-19 season before departing in free agency. With Philly, Burke appeared in 25 games off the bench and averaged 5.9 points a night.

One would expect the Mavs to still be on the lookout for frontcourt help to try and fill the gap left by Cauley-Stein, so more transactions may be on the way in Dallas.

After a controversial month in which her tweets caused multiple backlashes against her, Noname has once again cleared her Twitter timeline. Noname is no stranger to receiving outsized attention for her opinions, but this time, it appears she ran afoul of the more vicious Beyhive fans of Beyonce, who mobilized like the insects for which they are named to send enough abuse Noname’s way to prompt her to delete all of her tweets.

Retweeting a video of political activist Angela Davis speaking about her radical ideas, Noname expressed a wish that “Angela got the love Beyonce gets.” Of course, any insinuation that any human being deserves to be as exalted as Beyonce generally sends the Hive into a frenzy, so they got busy attacking Noname in retaliation. Exacerbating the issue were the J. Cole fans who were angry at Noname’s supporters for criticizing his song “Snow On Tha Bluff,” on which he raps about an anonymous young woman whose tone bothers him.

After fans online determined “Snow On Tha Bluff” to be a backhanded references to Noname’s work, they called out Cole for “tone-policing” and encouraged him to research Noname’s book club, which she uses to do the education that he requested on the song. Unfortunately, the whole situation was blown out-of-proportion by fans who took the criticism of J. Cole as a criticism of their decision to support J. Cole, causing them to lash out and Noname to respond with “Song 33” — a response for which she later apologized, as she felt it distracted from actual progressive activism.

Despite this, Noname remained outspoken on Twitter, tweeting her feelings about Angela Davis’ lack of public recognition and joking that Jay-Z — Beyonce’s husband, with whom the Beyhive has already taken issue on multiple separate occasions themselves — is a “fed” for his embrace of Black Capitalist philosophies. Previously, she was attacked herself for expressing interest in the same policies, as well as for expressing her distaste for the lack of diversity at her shows. The common denominator appears to be Noname herself — and the fact that so many people on Twitter seem so dead set on disagreeing with her opinions, no matter what they are.

Bonnaroo is now the latest major festival to cancel its 2020 iteration in light of the pandemic. Bonnaroo festival organizers have announced they would be scrapping this year’s event in order to protect the safety of its staff, artists, and festivalgoers.

The festival was originally scheduled to take place in Manchester, Tennessee over the weekend June 11. The festival had recently pushed back its date until September in hopes that it would be safe to gather in large crowds by then. But seeing as this Wednesday marked the highest recorded number of coronavirus cases in the US, Bonnaroo has decided to cancel its 2020 event entirely. The festival had booked many big-name artists to perform this year, including a reunion set by Tool and headlining performances by Miley Cyrus, Lizzo, and Tame Impala.

In a statement, festival organizers wrote that the decision was born out of an “abundance of caution” for everyone involved:

“Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival will not take place this September 24-27, 2020 as originally rescheduled. Our annual time together on the Farm is nothing short of magical, but out of an abundance of caution and for the health and safety of all Bonnaroovians, artists, staff, partners and our community, this is a necessary reality. More information on lineup, camping and accommodations will be available at a later date.”

After announcing the festival’s cancelation, Bonnaroo organizers said they are setting their sights on the future and have already confirmed 2021’s festival date. Next year, Bonnaroo will celebrate its 20th anniversary on the weekend of June 17 to 20 with a to-be-announced lineup.

Read Bonnaroo’s full statement above.

Some of the artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

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