Skip to main content

The Manual may earn a commission when you buy through links on our site.

The 16 best sports documentaries of all time

From Diego Maradona to The Last Dance, these are the best sports documentaries to check out now.

A close-up shot of men's legs standing on a grassy field, wearing blue knee-high socks with a ball at the front of his right foot.
Image used with permission by copyright holder

One of the great things about professional sports is that there’s almost always at least one season going on. Sometimes, though, you may find that there’s a lull in your actual sports watching habits, either because every league is on a break or because you enjoy certain sports more than others. If you’re someone who is trying to fill an open sports watching spot in your calendar, we suggest catching up on some of the best sports documentaries ever, especially if you’ve already blown through all of the best sports movies of all time.

A great sports documentary can tell a story that you may already be familiar with. What makes the documentary great, though, is coming to better understand the people behind it, and what motivated them to try to achieve the impossible. Sports are a vehicle through which we can talk and think about basically everything else that happens in our broader culture, and these documentaries provide exactly that kind of window.

You can also check out our lists of the best movies on Netflix, Hulu, or Peacock.

Hoop Dreams (1994)

Hoop Dreams
98 %
8.3/10
pg-13 174m
Genre Documentary
Stars William Gates, Arthur Agee, Steve James
Directed by Steve James
The original plan for the 1994 sports documentary Hoop Dreams was a 30-minute short film for PBS. Five years and over 250 hours of footage later, the result was a near three-hour film that won the Audience Award for Best Documentary at the 1994 Sundance Film Festival. This groundbreaking sports doc follows two Black high school students from Chicago, William Gates and Arthur Agee, on their quests to become stars in the NBA. Spoiler alert: Neither Gates nor Agee made an NBA roster, but Hoop Dreams is still fascinating to watch. The personal stories of each athlete are still captivating. The time the film was shot harkens back to an era when teens like Gates and Agee didn’t walk around with cameras in their pockets. The stars of Hoop Dreams are just themselves which only makes their story even more compelling.b

Athlete A (2020)

Athlete A
85 %
7.6/10
pg-13 104m
Genre Documentary
Stars Maggie Nichols, Jamie Dantzscher, Mark Alesia
Directed by Jon Shenk, Bonni Cohen
Despite numerous complaints of abuse filed against him by former athletes and coaches, osteopathic physician Larry Nasser remained with USA Gymnastics for almost two decades. After his conviction in 2017 and sentence to serve 60 years in prison, more than 260 young women came forward about past sexual assault at the hands of the man hired to keep them healthy and safe. A tough watch for any former athlete or parent of an athlete, directors Bonni Cohen and Jon Shenk interview survivors in Athlete A while talking to reporters from the Indianapolis newspaper that exposed the internal cover-ups within the American gymnastics system that allowed Nasser to go unpunished for more than 18 years.
Athlete A Trailer #1 (2020) | Rotten Tomatoes TV

When We Were Kings (1996)

When We Were Kings
83 %
8/10
89m
Genre Documentary
Stars Muhammad Ali, George Foreman, Don King
Directed by Leon Gast
There likely will never be an athlete like Muhammed Ali. When We Were Kings puts the world champion boxer, humanitarian, and human lightning rod on display at his absolute peak. When We Were Kings is a documentary about the 1974 heavyweight boxing match held in Zaire, dubbed “The Rumble in the Jungle.” The reigning heavyweight champion, George Foreman, took on challenges of his own and was an unlikely underdog against Ali, who at 32 was considered washed up. Boxing insiders thought Ali had no chance to defeat Foreman, who was 10 years younger than Ali and in the prime of his career. Rising boxing promoter Don King paid each man $5 million to take the fight. The film covers the events leading up to the legendary bout and the music festival held in conjunction with the main event. The film won the Academy Award for Best Feature Documentary in 1996. Ali and Foreman, who had long before put aside their differences and had become friends, took the stage to accept the award along with the filmmakers.

The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters (2007)

The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters
83 %
8/10
pg-13 83m
Genre Documentary
Stars Steve Wiebe, Billy Mitchell, Walter Day
Directed by Seth Gordon
Long before eSports became a lucrative endeavor and colleges offered courses in competitive, organized gaming, video game fans did battle over high scores on classic arcade games worldwide. King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters follows the story of Steve Wiebe, an unemployed teacher from Washington, on a quest to beat a Donkey Kong high score that’s stood for more than 25 years. After using his mathematical background to identify exploitable patterns in the classic arcade game, Wiebe finally breaks the high score in 2003 and sends the proof to a company dedicated to tracking high scores in arcade games. The story that unfolds throughout the documentary involves circuit-board tampering, a decade-long feud between players, and the eventual face-off between Donkey Kong record holders for the top spot on the high score list. While not a sports documentary in the traditional sense, King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters is an entertaining and humorous look at the characters involved in the world of competitive gaming. It highlights the lows to which people will sink to be No. 1 and the never-ending nostalgia we have for the games of our youth.

Murderball (2005)

Murderball
87 %
7.7/10
r 88m
Genre Documentary
Stars Joe Bishop, Keith Cavill, Andy Cohn
Directed by Henry Alex Rubin, Dana Adam Shapiro
Murderball is a sports documentary that not only exposed the audience to a sport few knew existed but revealed the competition that occurs even among athletes with obvious physical limitations. Murderball follows the journey of the U.S. quad rugby team on their way to the 2004 Paralympics in Athens. The documentary covers topics far beyond sports. The athletes discuss training, competition, life away from the sport, relationships, and the unfortunate events that forever confined them to wheelchairs for the rest of their lives. Murderball will cause athletes of all skill levels to question the intensity of their training while instilling gratitude for the ability they have to do even the most basic things their sports require.

The Battered Bastards of Baseball (2014)

The Battered Bastards of Baseball
75 %
8/10
r 80m
Genre Documentary
Stars Kurt Russell, Todd Field, Jim Bouton
Directed by Chapman Way, Maclain Way
The best way to describe The Battered Bastards of Baseball — and the true story of the Portland Mavericks — is to envision the Bad News Bears all grown up. The idea of veteran actor Bing Russell, father of Kurt, The Battered Bastards of Baseball recounts the conception of the first independent baseball team in America back in 1973. Labeled a “failure waiting to happen,” Russell made the organization an unabashed success. The Mavericks broke attendance records while playing in middle-of-nowhere Portland by attracting players from across the country looking for one last chance to play organized baseball. The Battered Bastards of Baseball is the perfect sports documentary to remind fans why we fall in love with sports and the lengths people will go to keep the the dream of playing alive, no matter the cost.
The Battered Bastards of Baseball | Official Trailer [HD] | Netflix

Free Solo (2018)

Free Solo
83 %
8.1/10
pg-13 100m
Genre Documentary, Adventure
Stars Alex Honnold, Tommy Caldwell, Jimmy Chin
Directed by Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi, Jimmy Chin
Warning: This film will cause heart palpitations, extreme sweating, and nervousness while quietly bringing on the urge to try mountain climbing. Free Solo might not inspire people to attempt free soloing — a style of climbing done without a rope or harness — but watching Alex Honnold’s climb, with the majestic views in the backdrop, will make anyone plan to visit their nearest mountain. Free Solo documents Honnold’s life and his attempt to become the first person to ever free solo climb El Capitan, the 3,000-foot vertical rock formation in Yosemite National Park. One of the fascinating subplots of Free Solo involves filmmakers Jimmy Chin and Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi being utterly transparent about the risks that Honnold’s climb entails. Both directors express an obligation to document either the triumph or tragedy of the attempt. Still, it’s rare to watch a documentary where the directors openly hope the star of their film doesn’t try to go for his goal.
Free Solo - Trailer | National Geographic

Beyond the Mat (1999)

Beyond the Mat
73 %
7.6/10
r 102m
Genre Documentary
Stars Mick Foley, Terry Funk, Vince McMahon
Directed by Barry W. Blaustein
Long before the Vice series Dark Side of the Ring exposed some of the more unscrupulous and tragic tales in professional wrestling, Beyond The Mat was the first to pull back the curtain on the business. The documentary tells the real-life stories of some of the sport’s biggest stars. Released during the height of the wrestling boom in the late 1990s, Beyond The Mat focuses on the lives of professional wrestlers Mick Foley, Terry Funk, Darren Drozdov, and Jake “The Snake” Roberts. While smart fans have long known the action in the ring is scripted, Beyond The Mat shed light on the toll that years of performing takes on the body and mind. The film shows the performers at their rawest, like a crack-addicted Roberts (clean now for more than 10 years), a 53-year-old Funk refusing to hang up the boots, and a former NFL player, Drozdov, paralyzed due to a botched move. Beyond The Mat provides a riveting inside look at real consequences to the “fake” action in the ring and makes for an entertaining film, even for viewers uneducated or uninterested in the world of professional wrestling.

The Short Game (2013)

The Short Game
51 %
7.3/10
pg 100m
Genre Documentary
Stars Edd Hall, Jennifer Van Horn
Directed by Josh Greenbaum
The sports world is fascinated with phenoms and “the next” great athlete. Who is the next Kobe? Who will emerge as the next Tom Brady? Typically, these cumbersome labels get stuck to athletes at the high school and collegiate levels. But, as The Short Game proves, even competitors as young as 7 feel the pressure to be the next big thing. The Short Game chronicles the journey of pint-sized pin seekers from around the world as they descend on the world-famous Pinehurst golf course in North Carolina to play in the 2012 U.S. Kids Golf World Championship. The documentary highlights eight competitors vying for the crown and interviews the golf prodigies and their families in the six months leading up to the tournament. The film also includes interviews with golf legends such as Jack Nicklaus, Gary Player, Chi Chi Rodriguez, and Annika Sorenstam about the pressure of being a professional golfer. Los Angeles Times critic Annlee Ellingson described the film as a “warts-and-all depiction of youth golfers.” Parents of burgeoning athletes likely will recognize themselves and their kids in some of the players in The Short Game that sacrifice everything on the quest to be the next big thing.
The Short Game | Official Trailer [HD] | Netflix

No No: A Dockumentary (2014)

No No: A Dockumentary
100m
Genre Documentary
Directed by Jeffrey Radice
George Bradley recorded the first official no-hitter recognized by Major League Baseball back in 1876. Since then, 312 no-hitters have been thrown by big-league pitchers. But perhaps none are as memorable as the 1970 “no-no” tossed by Dock Ellis of the Pittsburgh Pirates. The man on the mound, a former All-Star, didn’t remember much from that performance. He admitted to being high on LSD during the game after a night of partying and getting his start days mixed up. No No: A Dockumentary revisits his no-hitter against the San Diego Padres and covers the right-hander’s prolific career, his outspokenness for Black players’ rights in the Major Leagues, and his addictions to booze and amphetamines. The film also chronicles Ellis’ efforts to help other addicts get clean — right up to his death at age 63 in 2008.
'No No: A Dockumentary' Trailer (2014)

Undefeated (2011)

Undefeated
pg-13 113m
Genre Documentary
Stars O.C. Brown, Bill Courtney, Chavis Daniels
Directed by T.J. Martin, Daniel Lindsay
An Academy Award winner for Best Documentary Feature, Undefeated follows the Manassas Tigers and coach Bill Courtney in inner-city Memphis. Courtney is a volunteer coach trying to put a winning team on the field while keeping his players off the streets and out of trouble. Courtney leads the team to their first winning season in years after being a perennial punching bag for other football programs in the state. “Football doesn’t build character. It reveals character,” Courtney reminds his players during one scene, a line that feels like an outtake from Friday Night Lights but is delivered with passion and intensity. Undefeated will move viewers to tears during more than a few scenes. It’s easy to forget that Courtney is a business owner in town, acting as coach and mentor out of the kindness of his heart and not for a weekly paycheck.
Undefeated Official Trailer #1 - Academy Award Nominated Documentary (2011) HD

Team Foxcatcher (2016)

Team Foxcatcher
91m
Genre Documentary
Stars Dave Schultz, Nancy Schultz, John E. du Pont
Directed by Jon Greenhalgh
Team Foxcatcher is the sports documentary that proves money and influence can lead to unimaginable access to young athletes looking for a helping hand — and that power ultimately corrupts. John du Pont, the heir to the du Pont family fortune, was a published ornithologist and philatelist who fell in love with the sport of wrestling at a young age. Not being much of an athlete, DuPont used his money and influence to build a world-class training facility on the grounds of his farm in Pennsylvania. Renamed Foxcatcher Farm after his late mother, DuPont attracted young athletes all over the country due to the facility and his relationship with Dave Schultz, a former Olympic gold medalist training for a comeback. After an altercation with Schultz, du Pont shot and killed the Olympian and was later convicted and sentenced to 13 to 30 years in prison for the murder. Team Foxcatcher utilizes news clips, home videos, and interviews with Schultz’s wife and former members of Foxcatcher to recall the events leading up to Schultz’s murder. The film recounts du Pont’s downward spiral after the death of his mother, devolving from a well-off philanthropist into an erratic and paranoid murderer.
Team Foxcatcher | Official Trailer [HD] | Netflix

Fire in Babylon (2010)

Fire in Babylon
83m
Genre Documentary
Stars Clive Lloyd, Viv Richards, Colin Croft
Directed by Stevan Riley
We obviously know plenty about the greatest teams in the history of US sports, but few dominant teams can compare with the dominance of West Indian cricket team in the 1970s and 1980s. Fire in Babylon focuses on the teams rise to dominance, and the way the charismatic personalities of individual players allowed them to spend plenty of time in the headlines. Of course, Fire in Babylon also highlights the colonial history of cricket as a sport, and the way that it would never have become so popular in India in the first place if the U.K. had not colonized the country. 
Fire in Babylon - Official Trailer

Diego Maradona (2019)

Diego Maradona
130m
Genre Documentary
Stars Diego Maradona, Pelé, Dalma Maradona
Directed by Asif Kapadia
Telling the story of one of the best and most volatile soccer players in the history of soccer, Diego Maradona focuses on the tremendous success Maradona had as a player, and the way that success was coupled with plenty of headlines about his exploits off the field. Few players had the kind of personality required to garner headlines for decades, but Maradona was exactly that type of player. Even so, his exploits on the field could not be denied. Argentina won a World Cup thanks in large part to his skill, and even decades later, he remains in the conversation for the best player in the sport’s history.
Diego Maradona (2019): Official Trailer | HBO

Best Sport Documentary Series

While compiling this list of the best sports documentaries ever, we stuck to mostly films and not documentary series. Though we’ve included fantastic documentary series such as The Last Dance and other installments of ESPN’s 30 for 30 series here.

The Last Dance (2020)

The Last Dance
tv-ma 1 Season
Genre Documentary
Cast Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen, Dennis Rodman
Created by Mike Tollin
One of ESPN’s newest documentary series, The Last Dance, takes a thorough look at the Chicago Bulls heyday through never-before-seen footage of the team’s final championship-winning season in 1997-1998. The 10-part series gathered critical acclaim as it revisits the career of one of the world’s greatest athletes, Michael Jordan. It’s the rawest you’ll ever see Jordan, who keeps a cigar and a neat pour of Cincoro tequila by his tableside as he relives the years that made him internationally known as the GOAT (greatest of all time) in the world of basketball.
'The Last Dance' exclusive trailer and footage: The untold story of Michael Jordan and the Bulls

ESPN 30 for 30 Shorts (2012)

30 for 30 sport documentary series logo for ESPN on red background.
Image used with permission by copyright holder

ESPN’s 30 for 30 isn’t a single documentary, but rather a series of some of the best sports documentaries ever made. Here, you will find documentaries — 157 of them and counting — that highlight interesting, profound, and untold details and backstories in sports history. Some of our favorites include:

  • The U: This is arguably one of ESPN’s best 30 for 30 episodes, diving into what went down at the University of Miami between 1983 and 1991. As racial and cultural tensions overwhelmed the city of Miami, the University of Miami’s football team ushered in a new era of recruiting, swagger, and “bad boy” success on one of the country’s biggest stages.
  • Survive and Advance: This documentary takes an in-depth look at the late Jim Valvano, commonly known as Jimmy V, as he led the North Carolina State Wolfpack basketball team through a nine overtime, one-point games in 1983. It’s a story that shares how one of the biggest underdogs overcame all odds en route to one of the unlikeliest victories of all time, the 1983 Division 1 Men’s Basketball championship.
  • The Two Escobars: The Two Escobars revisits an undisclosed marriage of crime and sport, shedding light on the rise of the Colombian national soccer team and its intersection with the country’s drug cartel-fueled murders of the time. The connecting point? Colombia’s captain, Andrés Escobar, and his brother, the infamous cartel kingpin Pablo Escobar. This documentary investigates the astounding connections between the two men, their murders, and their impact on Colombia.
WATCH ON ESPN

Editors' Recommendations

Movie images and data from:
Chris Illuminati
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Chris Illuminati is the author of five books and his writing has been featured on websites such as Rolling Stone, Men’s…
From food to true crime and sports, here are the 14 best Netflix documentaries to stream right now
Here are our top picks of documentaries from all genres
Wild Wild Country

Documentaries come in so many different shapes and sizes that any movie fan can find one they're interested in. Documentaries can be about your next great travel destination, the best ways to find and appreciate great food, or about a murder case that has been unsolved for decades. What unites great documentaries are the stories they tell and the powerful emotions they evoke. The best documentaries on Netflix also come with the same diversity described here.

It can definitely be overwhelming trying to find the best titles from among their expansive library, though, so we've decided to do some of that for you. These Netflix documentaries are sure to fascinate and entertain any audience. If you're caught up on all of these, you can also check out the best movies or TV shows to watch on Netflix.

Read more
From college to the barbershop, here are the 10 best Simpsons episodes of all time, ranked
These early episodes of The Simpsons are all the proof you need that the show deserves its extended run
The Simpsons

Wherever you look in the streaming ear, you're likely to find a great animated series to watch. Some of those series are serious, while others are basically sitcoms with animated characters. That latter category is entirely indebted to The Simpsons, the longest-running scripted series in TV history.

The difference between The Simpsons and many of the other great comedies in TV history (animated or not) is that The Simpsons, at its best, was always pushing its own limits. Although the show has famously had its ups and downs over the years, few shows in TV history can stand up against what The Simpsons was doing when the show was at its best. Generations of viewers grew up with Homer, Marge, and their family, and they grew to love the characters, even if they didn't reliably tune in every week. In its way, the show has become an institution.

Read more
72 Dangerous Places to Live, Dark Tourist, and more: Sate your wanderlust with the best travel shows and documentaries on Netflix
You'll love these amazing travel documentaries
Netflix logo on TV with red backlighting

Traveling is something that many people wish they could do more of. Whether you lack the time, money, or know-how to travel the world, though, it can be comforting to watch others do it from the comfort of your couch. A great travel show or documentary can be a wonderful escape and a reminder that the world is much bigger than the tiny slice of it you live in every day. What's even better is that many great travel documentaries on Netflix, if you're willing to go looking for them.

These documentaries will deliver stunning panoramic shots of the U.S. National Parks, as well as plenty of international wonders, and a little bit of good food as well. If you like all kinds of docs, travel or not, we've got you covered with Netflix documentaries (or maybe you're just really into crime docs and action flicks). We also have an overall guide on the best Netflix movies and the best Netflix shows.

Read more