Movies like Ball Don't Lie (2008)
The best movies like Ball Don't Lie (2008) are Ricky Stanicky (2024), I'm Still Here (2010) and Bruised (2021). If Ball Don't Lie hooked you, these 20 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedThe Basketball Diaries (1995)7.4/10 from 2,317 votes
- NewestLondon Calling (2025)Released 2025
Ricky Stanicky (2024)
When three childhood best friends pull a prank gone wrong, they invent the imaginary Ricky Stanicky to get them out of trouble. Twenty years later, the trio still uses the nonexistent Ricky as a handy alibi for their immature behavior. But when their spouses and partners get suspicious and demand to finally meet the fabled Mr. Stanicky, the guilty trio decide to hire a washed-up actor and raunchy celebrity impersonator to bring him to life.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisI'm Still Here (2010)
I'm Still Here is a portrayal of a tumultuous year in the life of actor Joaquin Phoenix. With remarkable access, the film follows the Oscar-nominee as he announces his retirement from a successful film career in the fall of 2008 and sets off to reinvent himself as a hip-hop musician. The film is a portrait of an artist at a crossroads and explores notions of courage and creative reinvention, as well as the ramifications of a life spent in the public eye.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
SnoozefestMovies like thisBruised (2021)
Jackie Justice is a mixed martial arts fighter who leaves the sport in disgrace. Down on her luck and simmering with rage and regret years after the fight, she's coaxed into a brutal underground fight by her manager and boyfriend Desi and grabs the attention of a fight league promoter who promises Jackie a life back in the Octagon. But the road to redemption becomes unexpectedly personal when Manny - the son she gave up as an infant - shows up at her doorstep. A triumphant story of a fighter who reclaims her power, in and out of the ring, when everyone has counted her out
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisFear of a Black Hat (1994)
Chronicling the controversial career of bad boys N.W.H. (Niggaz With Hats), this uproarious 'mockumentary' lampoons all of hardcore rap's hot-button issues. This underground laugh riot recounts the rise, fall and resurrection of a clueless bunch of would-be rappers, Ice Cold, Tone-Def & Tasty Taste performing as N.W.H.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisWhite Men Can't Jump (2023)
Seemingly opposite street hoopers, Jeremy, an injury prone former star, and Kamal, a has-been prodigy, team up to take one final shot at living out their dreams.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisLooking for Eric (2009)
Middle-aged postman and football fan Eric Bishop struggles with his increasingly chaotic existence, but receives some life coaching from the famously philosophical Éric Cantona.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisJackass Presents: Bad Grandpa (2013)
86-year-old Irving Zisman is on a journey across America with the most unlikely companion: his 8 year-old grandson, Billy.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisNirvana: Live at the Paramount (2011)
Recorded in Seattle, WA on Halloween Night, 1991, Live at the Paramount is the only known Nirvana live show recorded on 16mm film. Now released to coincide with the 20th anniversary of the release of Nirvana's watershed album.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisSextuplets (2019)
Father-to-be Alan is shocked to learn that he was born a sextuplet. With his newfound brother Russell riding shotgun, the duo sets out on a hilarious journey to reunite with their remaining long-lost siblings.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisUHF (1989)
The eccentric new manager of a UHF television channel tries to save the station from financial ruin with an odd array of programming.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisLondon Calling (2025)
After fleeing the UK from a job gone wrong, a down on his luck hitman is forced to babysit the son of his new crime boss and show him how to become a man.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMagic Mike's Last Dance (2023)
Mike Lane takes to the stage again after a lengthy hiatus, following a business deal that went bust, leaving him broke and taking bartender gigs in Florida. For what he hopes will be one last hurrah, Mike heads to London with a wealthy socialite who lures him with an offer he can’t refuse… and an agenda all her own. With everything on the line, once Mike discovers what she truly has in mind, will he—and the roster of hot new dancers he’ll have to whip into shape—be able to pull it off?
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHow High (2001)
Jamal and Silas, two ordinary guys who smoke something magical, pass their college entrance exams with flying colors and end up at Harvard. Ivy League ways are strange but Silas and Jamal take it in a stride -- until their supply of supernatural smoke runs dry. That's when they have to start living by their wits and rely on their natural resources to make the grade.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisGoon (2012)
Doug Glatt, a slacker who discovers he has a talent for brawling, is approached by a minor league hockey coach and invited to join the team as the "muscle." Despite the fact that Glatt can't skate, his best friend, Pat, convinces him to give it a shot, and Glatt becomes a hero to the team and their fans, until the league's reigning goon becomes threatened by Glatt's success and decides to even the score.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBASEketball (1998)
Two losers from Milwaukee, Coop and Remer, invent a new game combining basketball with the rules of baseball. When the game becomes a huge success, they, along with a billionaire's help, form the Professional Baseketball League where everyone gets the same pay and no team can change cities. When a rival owner wants to institute major rule changes, Coop and Remer's team is the only one standing in the way.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Basketball Diaries (1995)
A high school basketball player’s life turns upside down after free-falling into the harrowing world of drug addiction.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisImperial Dreams (2014)
A 21-year-old reformed gangster's devotion to his family and his future is put to the test when he is released from prison and returns to his old stomping grounds in Watts, Los Angeles.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Redeem Team (2022)
Using unprecedented Olympic footage and behind-the-scenes material, The Redeem Team tells the story of the US Olympic Men's Basketball Team’s quest for gold at the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing following the previous team’s shocking performance four years earlier in Athens.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Fluffy Movie (2014)
Stand-up comic Gabriel Iglesias delights audiences during his sold-out "Unity Through Laughter" tour, which spans more than 400 cities in 23 countries. During his set, Iglesias -- nicknamed "Fluffy" -- pounces on topics like communicating with his teenage son, struggling with his weight, performing his concert tour across India, and handling the reappearance of his father after a 30-year absence.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHardball (2001)
An aimless young man who is scalping tickets, gambling and drinking, agrees to coach a Little League team from the Cabrini Green housing project in Chicago as a condition of getting a loan from a friend.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Ball Don't Lie?
The closest matches to Ball Don't Lie are Ricky Stanicky (2024), I'm Still Here (2010) and Bruised (2021). Below are 17 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Ball Don't Lie?
Start with Ricky Stanicky (2024), the closest match to Ball Don't Lie.
What is the highest-rated movie like Ball Don't Lie?
The Basketball Diaries (1995), rated 7.4/10 by 2,317 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Ball Don't Lie?
London Calling (2025) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like Ball Don't Lie?
Yes: Ricky Stanicky (2024), I'm Still Here (2010) and Bruised (2021).
How are movies similar to Ball Don't Lie chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Ball Don't Lie, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.