One of the greatest Black sport movies of all time came out 28 years ago. On this day in 1996, Michael Jordan and Warner Bros. teamed up for the iconic Space Jam film. MJ and the Looney Tunes had to play in a game worth way more than any NBA Finals and it ended up becoming a blockbuster.
Rating Black films, omitting many
It got us thinking, “What are the top four greatest Black sports films of all time?” Many fine choices had to be left out, but such is the nature of lists — you can’t include everybody. Let’s roll out.
4. Coach Carter
Coach Carter is the classic basketball film we all love. The movie, which is based on the true story of Ken Carter, is about a coach who puts morals above all. He was the coach of a highly successful and popular basketball team in California on the court, but off the court he was more interested in building men of character. When he noticed his team was slipping off the court due to grades and behavior, he stopped the team from playing completely until they got their act together. Truly a film that shows and teaches you how impactful the right coach can be.
3. King Richard
Honestly the biggest problem with King Richard was that it got overshadowed by one of Will Smith’s lowest moments. The weekend he was supposed to win an Oscar for King Richard, the infamous slap of Chris Rock happened and kind of drowned out all the success of an all-time great movie. King Richard tells the story of Venus and Serena Williams’ father, Richard Williams, and how he was determined to make sure his kids made it out the ‘hood and became Compton success stories. He took a different and unconventional route, and we saw all the struggles that birthed the greatest tennis player of all time and her sister. If the slap turned you off from the movie, it’s been three years, give it a watch.
2. Space Jam
Space Jam was so much more than a movie, it became a part of Black culture. It also introduced the younger generation to Michael Jordan in a cool way. Kids don’t really pay attention to sports and athletes in their childhood, Space Jam changed all that and that was due to how successful the movie became. The movie had a $100 million dollar budget, but somehow made over $250 million in the box office and sold over a billion dollars in merchandise. It also helped that MJ brought along some of the biggest names in basketball at the time like Charles Barkley and Patrick Ewing.
1. Love & Basketball
Was there any question on who would be in the top spot? If any sports movie is a bigger cult classic than Space Jam it is certainly Love & Basketball, and BET playing it every weekend speaks to that. Love & Basketball follows two childhood friends who shared a love for basketball which eventually led to their own love story as they grew older. They would separate but like all true love, eventually find a way back to each other. A classic sports film that transcends generations and also one of the few sports films that women probably love more than the men.
