In years to come, people will still be talking about The Last Dance as one of the greatest sports documentaries of all time.

We shouldn’t gloss over the criticisms, though, because it’s clear that Michael Jordan and his PR team were masterful in ensuring the Jordan brand emerged unscathed.

Two of the teammates featured in The Last Dance, Horace Grant and Scottie Pippen, are unhappy with how they were portrayed, and fellow professionals have been vocal in saying how Jordan broke many unspoken codes that exist between players.

Still, in a time when we’re all starved of live action, it’s a fantastic watch, and it has spurred interest in other basketball doccies from years gone by.

VICE did some digging, and outlined a few that are definitely worth a watch.

Let’s start off with ESPN’s 30 for 30 series, and a man who featured heavily in The Last Dance.

Rodman: For Better or Worse tells the story of Dennis Rodman’s bizarre, outrageous life. It’s actually available on DStv Catch Up at present, and here’s the trailer:

A few more options worth considering:

If The Last Dance also left you craving a deeper telling of the infamously ruthless Detroit Pistons Bad Boys squad that made life hell for the Bulls, 30 for 30: Bad Boys is definitely one to queue up. No Crossover: The Trial of Allen Iverson is an in-depth look at how the former NBA MVP was sentenced to prison for 15 years over an altercation spurred by racist epithets thrown at him and his friends at a bowling alley, and what the incident reveals about racism in his hometown of Hampton, Virginia. There are plenty more in ESPN’s doc vault, including Benji, The Fab Five, and Once Brothers.

Perhaps the most famous basketball doccie of all time, at least until The Last Dance, is Hoop Dreams, the iconic 1994 documentary directed by Steve James:

You can watch Hoop Dreams in full on YouTube here.

Basketball: A Love Story is a 10-part docuseries from ESPN that features many of the sport’s biggest names talking about their love for the sport.

Here’s a snippet of what’s covered:

Also worth a mention is A Kid from Coney Island:

The film tracks the life of fiery NBA point guard Stephon Marbury, who played with the Minnesota Timberwolves, New York Knicks, and Phoenix Suns until deciding to leave the U.S. behind to play in China’s professional basketball league. The documentary…highlights Marbury’s life growing up in the housing projects of Coney Island, where he trained as a streetball player and found unwavering support from his family to achieve his NBA dreams.

It also tackles the community that rallied around him, how the business side of professional basketball crushed Marbury’s joy and self-worth, and how being embraced by a different country and culture finally gave him peace and three championship trophies.

The trailer:

He may not be a household name around the world, but Marbury has quite a story to tell.

If you prefer your men on two wheels, Lance Armstrong’s 30 for 30 two-part docuseries / interview promises to be a goodie.

Hopefully, the above tides you over while you wait for live sports to return.

[source:vice]