← Back to lists

Top 5 Sports Documentaries for People Who Don't Watch Sports

You don't need to know the rules to get hooked on obsession, rivalry and a few people pushing far past what seems sensible.

by Top5Top Editors Sports 18 views
  1. Senna — Asif Kapadia

    It's built entirely from archive footage with no talking heads, and it plays like a tragedy you already know is coming.

  2. Free Solo — Jimmy Chin & Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi

    You'll grip the armrest through the entire last climb even though you know he survives, and that's a real achievement.

  3. Hoop Dreams — Steve James

    Five years following two Chicago teenagers makes it less a basketball film than the best American coming-of-age story ever filmed.

  4. The Last Dance — ESPN/Netflix

    Ten hours of Michael Jordan treating every small slight as fuel is the most compelling study of pettiness on television.

  5. Icarus — Bryan Fogel

    It begins as a cycling stunt and somehow turns into a Russian state doping conspiracy, which might be the wildest pivot in documentary history.

Make your own Top 5