Basketball shows to fill that post March Madness void in your heart

Just like every March, your beloved basketball team that seemed destined for NCAA glory; has somehow been knocked out of the tournament. Now there’s nothing to watch, but you’re not done with basketball season just yet.

Fortunately, there are plenty of basketball-themed shows to help fill that void. That is unless your team is still in the fight.

But for the rest of us, there’s always, the shows listed below. Let’s begin!

Big Shot – Disney+

John Stamos stars in this recent basketball drama for families. Stamos plays a Division 1 NCAA basketball coach who is fired after an outburst involving a chair being thrown at a referee.

He ends up finding a second chance coaching an elite high school girls basketball team. The series is 20 episodes long with all episodes currently available for streaming.

Winning Time: The rise of the Lakers Dynasty – HBO

For a much less family friendly take on basketball, is the HBO series, Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty. The series is set in the 1980s and chronicles the journey of the Los Angeles Lakers; the team that would become one of the most famous basketball teams of all time.

The series kicks off with the drafting of Magic Johnson and delves into the personal and professional lives of the players at the time. You can catch up on this series on HBO Max, with a new season expected to start later this year.

One Tree Hill – The CW

One Tree Hill is not exclusively about basketball. But if you want your sports drama mixed in with some plain, old fashion teen romance drama, then this show can succeed on both counts.

The main characters on the show are two half-brothers who start out as rivals, but slowly grow to respect one another. The kickoff of their rivalry is based around their competition for the high school basketball team, which one of the brothers’ captains.

(Of course the fact that their frequently both interested in the same girl is a contributing factor as well.) All nine seasons of this show are available on Hulu, though most of the basketball drama takes place in the first four seasons.

Hoops – Netflix

There always seems to be a new adult animated comedy, hoping to breakout and be the next The Simpsons or Family Guy. This one centers around the coach of a high school basketball team.

It’s pretty broad in terms of its comedy as it really leans into the hotheaded coach trope, in exactly the way that you would expect an adult animated comedy to do. But, if you’re looking for animated basketball action, this one checks that box.

It only lasted one season but is available to watch on Netflix.

The Last Dance – ESPN

If scripted drama just isn’t scratching that basketball itch, then there’s always documentaries. If you are looking for a basketball documentary specifically, then the obvious first stop has to be The Last Dance.

The ten-part documentary centers around the career of Michael Jordan, with a focus on his final season with the Chicago Bulls. The series was able to utilize access to an unprecedented amount of footage that was recorded at the time.

It was a phenomenon when it was first released in 2020, at the height of the COVID lockdowns when everyone was at home. The series won an Emmy Award and is currently available to stream on Netflix.

Last Chance U: Basketball – Netflix

Last Chance U is a documentary series that has run for several seasons at this point, with each season following the season of a specific college football team. The series has become quite popular, as it followed three different teams over five seasons.

The series was popular enough that in 2021, a spinoff series was released that focused on college basketball, following the basketball program of East Los Angles College. The first season of the show followed their triumphant 2019-2020 year, that would eventually be derailed by the COVID outbreak.

The spinoff was successful enough to get a second season of its own, which came out last December. Both seasons are currently available on Netflix.

Which basketball TV show is your favorite? Let us know in the comments below!