These Are the Best Sports Movies on Netflix

When you’re in the mood to watch something inspiring, there’s nothing quite like a sports movie to get your spirits lifted. With all the choices on Netflix though, it can be tough to decide which ones are the best.

There are plenty of great sports TV shows available on Netflix, such as Friday Night Lights and Last Chance U.

Sometimes, however, you don’t have time to binge three to five seasons of a show for that uplifting factor.

Queueing up a film is the best option for when you want a sports flick about the triumph of the human spirit, but there are tons of great ones that aren’t available on Netflix.

Below you’ll find a list of a handful of great sports films that you should consider adding to your personal Netflix Queue.

42

Released: 2013

Starring: Chadwick Boseman, Harrison Ford, Alan Tudyk, Nicole Beharie, Christopher Meloni, André Holland, Lucas Black, Hamish Linklater, and Ryan Merriman

42 is the the true story of “the racial integration of American professional baseball by player Jackie Robinson, who wore jersey number 42 through his Major League career.”

It was a breakout performance for Chadwick Boseman, who stared as Robinson in the film, and eventually went on to become T’Challa / Black Panther in the Marvel Cinematic Universe films.

Pull up 42 on Netflix tonight and check out Boseman in his first big film role.

 

Southpaw

Released: 2015

Starring: Jake Gyllenhaal, Forest Whitaker, Rachel McAdams, Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson and Rita Ora.

Many great boxing films have been made but, excluding Rocky, you’d be hard pressed to find one that delivers as committed of a performance as Jake Gyllenhaal gives in Southpaw.

“Billy ‘The Great’ Hope (Jake Gyllenhaal), the reigning junior middleweight boxing champion, has an impressive career, a loving wife and daughter, and a lavish lifestyle. However, when tragedy strikes, Billy hits rock bottom, losing his family, his house and his manager. He soon finds an unlikely savior in Tick Willis (Forest Whitaker), a former fighter who trains the city’s toughest amateur boxers. With his future on the line, Hope fights to reclaim the trust of those he loves the most.

If you were a fan of the Rocky series or films like Fighting and Never Back Down, then this is a movie you’ll thoroughly enjoy.

The Waterboy

Released: 1998

Starring: Adam Sandler, Kathy Bates, Fairuza Balk, Jerry Reed, and Henry Winkler

Raised by an overprotective mother, Bobby Boucher Jr. is the water boy for a very successful college football team.

When the coach fires Bobby, he takes on water boy duties for a significantly less-successful rival team, led by the despondent Coach Klein.

After seeing Bobby clobber a player who was bullying him, Coach Klein asks him to join the team as a linebacker. Soon, the team becomes championship contenders.

Trouble With the Curve

Released: 2012

Starring: Clint Eastwood, Amy Adams, Justin Timberlake, Matthew Lillard, John Goodman Robert Patrick, and Scott Eastwood.

For decades Gus Lobel (Clint Eastwood) has been one of baseball’s best scouts — but now his age is catching up with him. Still, he refuses to be benched even though his bosses are questioning his judgment.

Tasked with checking out the country’s hottest batting prospect, Gus is forced to accept help from his daughter, Mickey (Amy Adams). Though they haven’t spent time together in years, father and daughter make new discoveries about their shared past, which could change their future.”

If you’re a fan of films like Moneyball or The Rookie, make sure you catch this while it’s on Netflix.

Thunderstruck

Released: 2012

Starring: Taylor Gray, Kevin Durant, Brandon T. Jackson, Doc Shaw, and Jim Belushi

If you’re in the mood for a family-oriented sports flick to watch the kids, Thunderstruck is probably the best option on Netflix.

The film stars real-life former OKC Thunder small forward Kevin Durant — he now plays for the Golden State Warriors — as himself, and Star Wars Rebels voice actor Taylor Gray as the high school kid who accidentally steals Durant’s b-ball skills.

Much to their dismay, however, returning the talent ends up being a lot harder than taking it.

Goon

Released: 2011

Starring:  Seann William Scott, Jay Baruchel, Alison Pill, Marc-André Grondin, Kim Coates, Eugene Levy, and Liev Schreiber

Goon is a hockey film about “an exceedingly nice but somewhat dimwitted man who becomes the enforcer for a minor league ice hockey team.”

The “dimwit” here is Scott’s character Doug Glatt, who is very polite and kind-hearted, but hides a vicious violent streak that earns him a spot on a minor league hockey team after he unleashes it on a member of one of their opposing teams.

Arguably Scott’s best performance ever, Goon is currently available to watch on Netflix.

Goon: Last of the Enforcers

Released: 2017

Starring: Seann William Scott, Jay Baruchel, Alison Pill, Marc-André Grondin, Kim Coates, Wyatt Russell, Callum Keith Rennie, Jason Jones, Elisha Cuthbert, and Liev Schreiber

While not considered a financial success, Goon was so well-received critically that it sparked a sequel, Goon: Last of the Enforcers.

It follows the next chapter in Doug “The Thug” Glatt’s story, this time focusing on how he and his semi-pro team handle being in the spotlight while the professional hockey teams are on a lock-out.

After watching Goon it’s a no-brainer that Goon: Last of the Enforcers should be your natural follow-up.

Gridiron Gang

Released: 2006

Starring: Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, Xzibit, Kevin Dunn, Leon Rippy, L. Scott Caldwell, Jade Yorker, and Setu Taase

Gridiron Gang is “loosely based on the true story of the Kilpatrick Mustangs during the 1990 season.”

Johnson stars as Sean Porter, a probation officer who “works at Kilpatrick Detention Center in Los Angeles” who “becomes frustrated at not being able to help the kids get away from their problems in life when they are released from the center, such as street gangs and drug dealings.”

If you’re itching to watch a flick starring The Rock, this is the only one of his films currently streaming on Netflix so make sure to queue it up.

Field of Dreams

Released: 1989

Starring: Kevin Costner, Amy Madigan, James Earl Jones, Ray Liotta, and Burt Lancaster

Field of Dreams is not just one of the most classic sports films off all-time, it is considered by many critics to be among the best films of all-time in general.

It stars Costner as Ray Kinsella, “a novice Iowa farmer who lives with his wife, Annie, and daughter, Karin.” Kinsella had a “troubled relationship with his father” and after hearing voices decides to build a baseball diamond in his cornfield.

Eventually, the baseball field becomes overrun with the ghosts of legendary baseball players, and Kinsella gets an opportunity to reconnect with his damaged past.

Field of Dreams was incredibly well-received upon its release, earning $84.4 million on a budget of $15 million, and earned multiple Oscar nominations.

It is now streaming on Netflix for your viewing pleasure.