NBA in Hollywood

Growing up as a kid, I loved watching TV shows or movies where athletes were playing a role. If you were born in the late 80’s and early 90’s, movies like Space Jam and Kazaam had to be a favorite at one point of your life. I mean, what’s not to like about movie like Space Jam? It consists of the best cartoon characters ever and arguably the best and most recognizable athlete of all time. As kids, we didn’t pay attention to the acting or, should I say, the lack thereof. Most athletes were terrible actors. This is not an attempt to take credit away from these guys; they are very good at what they do, in this case play basketball, however, they should have left acting to the real professionals. Here are my top 3 examples of bad acting in movies starring NBA athletes.

1. Kazaam 1996

In this movie, Shaquille O’Neal plays a rapping genie who has been held captive for thousands of years. He later gets in contact with a young kid who had been bullied in his own neighborhood. To remain free he has to grant the kid three wishes. The fact that Shaq, who is rather an intimidating man (7’1”, 300 lbs), is playing a genie who raps kiddie rhymes throughout the movie baffles me. The 2.6 rating that IMDb gave the film explains it all.

2. Space Jam 1996

A childhood favorite of all, what’s not to like about this movie? The Great Michael Jordan himself helps the underdog Looney Toons beat the Monstars, who cheated by taking the talents of some NBA superstars such as Charles Barkley and Patrick Ewing. The victory led to the freedom of the Looney Toons from the alien monstars. However, the fact that Michael Jordan was physically on set by himself for a good portion of the movie, he gets an E for effort, but his acting performance, along with the other NBA superstars, weren’t Oscar worthy. Despite everything, this movie will always be a favorite for all.

3. He Got Game 1998

This movie here is the most serious of the bunch. Denzel Washington is a convict who has been released on parole only for the sole purpose of trying to convince his superstar son (Ray Allen) to play college basketball at the governor’s alma mater in exchange for an earlier release time. For a movie filled with a lot of emotion, Ray Allen rarely showed any. I mean, his father killed his mother, (in the movie of course!) and his first encounter with his father was supposed to be serious, but it was very casual and lacked the emotion it was supposed to have. He Got Game is a great movie, but Ray Allen needed to take his poker face off and it would’ve been even better.