Dynamic Watchlist Hub: Jan 19, 2026

10 Best Movies Like The Basketball Diaries

If you loved The Basketball Diaries, we've curated the perfect watchlist for you based on shared genres, themes, and directorial style.

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Expert Review & Ratings

See our full critical analysis and audience score for The Basketball Diaries.

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#1
Total Eclipse

Total Eclipse

1995★ 6.4

Why watch this? A perfect follow-up to The Basketball Diaries for fans of Drama. It captures a similar emotionally gripping atmosphere.

Young, wild poet Arthur Rimbaud and his mentor Paul Verlaine engage in a fierce, forbidden romance while feeling the effects of a hellish artistic lifestyle....

#2
Marvin's Room

Marvin's Room

1996★ 6.7

Why watch this? A perfect follow-up to The Basketball Diaries for fans of Drama. It captures a similar emotionally gripping atmosphere.

A leukemia patient attempts to end a 20-year feud with her sister to get her bone marrow....

#3
The Quick and the Dead

The Quick and the Dead

1995★ 6.5

Why watch this? A perfect follow-up to The Basketball Diaries for fans of Drama. It captures a similar adrenaline-pumping atmosphere.

A mysterious woman comes to compete in a quick-draw elimination tournament, in a town taken over by a notorious gunman....

#4
This Boy's Life

This Boy's Life

1993★ 7.1

Why watch this? A perfect follow-up to The Basketball Diaries for fans of Drama. It captures a similar emotionally gripping atmosphere.

When a son and mother move to Seattle in hopes for a better life, the mother meets a seemingly polite man. Things go south when the man turns out to be abusive, endangering their l...

#5
Antwone Fisher

Antwone Fisher

2002★ 6.9

Why watch this? A perfect follow-up to The Basketball Diaries for fans of Drama. It captures a similar emotionally gripping atmosphere.

A sailor prone to violent outbursts is sent to a naval psychiatrist for help. Refusing at first to open up, the young man eventually breaks down and reveals a horrific childhood. T...

#6
What's Eating Gilbert Grape

What's Eating Gilbert Grape

1993★ 7.7

Why watch this? A perfect follow-up to The Basketball Diaries for fans of Drama. It captures a similar emotionally gripping atmosphere.

Gilbert Grape is a small-town young man with a lot of responsibility. Chief among his concerns are his mother, who is so overweight that she can't leave the house, and his mentally...