Silver Screeners: The All-Cinema Basketball Team
All-Star team selected from the 10 greatest basketball movies of all time
From Aaron Copland’s symphonic opening to “He Got Game” to Arthur Agee leading Marshall High to the state tournament, iconic basketball movie scenes live with us. Rosie Perez’s water request. A game of strip basketball. “You’re the man now, Dog!”
I’d spend hours scouring Sacramento’s used movie stores, rounding out my basketball film collection. The worn boxes still line my bookshelf, though the dual DVD/VHS player has long been disconnected.
In the 1994 documentary “Hoop Dreams,” the best sports film of all time (directed by Steve James), we follow along as two inner-city Chicago teenagers learn the ugly business-side of basketball while leaning on family and friends in the Cabrini-Green projects. In “Blue Chips” and “He Got Game,” Ron Shelton and Spike Lee cast NBA players while striking a balance between acting shops and believable hoops. In “White Men Can’t Jump” and “Love and Basketball,” famous actors — Woody Harrelson, Wesley Snipes, Sanaa Lathan, Omar Epps — put their hardwood skills to the test.
For this column, I’ve taken my 10 favorite basketball movies and comprised a 12-player All-Star Team from their most compelling characters.
Starters
Arthur “Man” Agee Jr: It’s a shame the “Hoop Dreams” stars never played in the same backcourt at St. Joseph’s, as Agee transferred to a public school, Marshall. Agee has the last laugh as Marshall makes it to the state championship. The guard brings toughness and athleticism in the mold of his idol, Isiah “Tuss” Thomas.
William Gates: Say what you want about Gene Pingatore — the demanding St. Joe’s head coach who probably rushed Gates back from a knee injury — but he developed a level of toughness in his shooting guard. A Agee-Gates backcourt would be a treat to watch. “Hoop Dreams” ushered in decades of great sports documentaries, from ESPN’s “30 for 30” series to Netflix originals such as “Last Chance U.”
Monica Wright: In the 2000 romantic drama “Love & Basketball,” Sanaa Lathan and Omar Epps provide sports fans with a perfect first-date movie, and maybe a few third- or fourth-date intimacies. Released three years after the WNBA launch, American girls could dream of playing pro basketball in their home country.
Jesus Shuttlesworth: It was a bold choice by Spike to cast NBA star Ray Allen as the lead in his 1998 drama “He Got Game.” Though stilted at times, Allen benefits from beautiful directing, a captivating soundtrack — again, doesn’t get better than Copland — and working with Denzel Washington. The 1-on-1 game between Jesus and Jake Shuttlesworth has similarities to one Agee plays against his father, Bo.
Neon Boudeaux: Shaq gets a lot of crap for “Kazaam,” but he delivers in “Blue Chips” as the can’t-miss Bayou recruit. Shaq makes up for lack of size on a Screeners roster that has no room for co-star and Magic sidekick Penny Hardaway.
Reserves
Sidney Deane and Billy Hoyle: Turnovers and horseplay might be an issue, so the “White Men Can’t Jump” teammates, played by Wesley Snipes (Deane) and Woody Harrelson (Hoyle), would only enter if a spark is needed. This is easily the best basketball comedy of the chosen films.
Nathaniel “Cornbread” Hamilton: The most underrated movie on the board (available in its entirety on YouTube), “Cornbread, Earl & Me” stars NBA player Jamaal Wilkes as Cornbread, a New York City phenom shot dead before realizing his dreams. A young Laurence Fishburne (pre-”Apocalypse Now,” even) is left distraught over the murder of his idol and fights a corrupt police department to keep his friend’s legacy intact. The Blackbyrds provide a great theme song.
Jamal Wallace: Among the films selected, “Finding Forrester” probably has the fewest basketball scenes. However, Rob Brown gives the most powerful performance of any actor on this team.
Saleh: 1990s Sports films loved the recruiting narrative, and this movie came off the heels of Jamaican bobsled masterpiece “Cool Runnings.” In “The Air Up There,” which also has many similarities to “Blue Chips” (also a 1994 release), Jimmy Dolan travels to Africa to recruit the strikingly tall Saleh, played by Charles Gitonga Maina. Saleh brings interior defense.
Shep: If you can play basketball alone, without a ball, you can play against anyone. That’s the defining scene for Shep (played by Leon) — a street- and basketball-wise school security guard, playing against himself in the dead of night on a New York City court — in the sports thriller “Above The Rim.” Also featuring solid performances from Marlon Wayans and Tupac, two underrated actors.
Jimmy Chitwood: The best player on Norman Dale’s Indiana high school basketball team in “Hoosiers,” Chitwood (played by Maris Valainis) provides clutch shooting in the final seconds. He’s on the court when it matters. While “Hoosiers” is the most revered basketball movie to older generations, it ranks low on my top 10.