Movies Like The Basketball Diaries

If you liked The Basketball Diaries (1995), a drama and crime movie directed by Scott Kalvert, here are 20 movies with a similar feel, based on TMDB's recommendations. Each one links to its cast, trailer and where it's streaming.

1
Beautiful Boy (2018)
★ 7.6/10Also drama
After he and his first wife separate, journalist David Sheff struggles to help their teenage son, who goes from experimenting with drugs to becoming devastatingly addicted to methamphetamine.
2
Above the Rim (1994)
★ 7.1/10Also crime and drama
Story of a promising high school basketball star and his relationships with two brothers, one a drug dealer and the other a former basketball star fallen on hard times and now employed as a security guard.
3
Trainspotting (1996)
★ 8/10Also drama and crime
Heroin addict Mark Renton stumbles through bad ideas and sobriety attempts with his unreliable friends --Sick Boy, Begbie, Spud and Tommy. He also has an underage girlfriend, Diane, along for the ride. After cleaning…
4
A Million Little Pieces (2019)
★ 6.2/10Also drama
A young drug-addled writer approaching the bottom of his descent submits to two months of agonizing detox at a treatment center in Minnesota.
5
Kids (1995)
★ 6.9/10Also drama and crime
A group of bored, disaffected New York City teenagers spend a day skating, smoking, drinking, partying, deflowering virgins, and getting into fights.
6
White Boy Rick (2018)
★ 6.4/10Also crime and drama
The story of Richard Wershe Jr., a teenager who became an undercover informant for the police during the 1980s, and was ultimately arrested for drug trafficking and sentenced to life in prison.
7
My Friend Dahmer (2017)
★ 6.5/10Also drama and crime
Jeffrey Dahmer struggles with a difficult family life as a young boy. During his teenage years he slowly transforms, edging closer to the serial killer he was to become.
8
Valley of the Dolls (1967)
★ 6.1/10Also drama
Lured by their dreams of fame and fortune, three ambitious young women enter the world of show business and discover how easy it is to sink into a celebrity nightmare of ego, alcohol and pills — the beloved "dolls."
9
Less Than Zero (1987)
★ 6.4/10Also drama and crime
A college freshman returns to Los Angeles for Christmas at his ex-girlfriend's request, but discovers that his former best friend has an out-of-control drug habit.
10
Half Nelson (2006)
★ 6.7/10Also drama
Despite his dedication to the junior-high students who fill his classroom, idealistic teacher Dan Dunne leads a secret life of addiction that the majority of his students will never know. But things change when a…
11
Bully (2001)
★ 6.7/10Also crime and drama
A group of teenagers in South Florida enact a murder plot against their mutual bully, Bobby, who has emotionally, physically, and sexually abused them for years.
12
Once Upon a Time in America (1984)
★ 8.4/10Also drama and crime
A former Prohibition-era Jewish gangster returns to the Lower East Side of Manhattan over thirty years later, where he once again must confront the ghosts and regrets of his old life.
13
The Smashing Machine (2025)
★ 6.4/10Also drama
In the late 1990s, up-and-coming mixed martial artist Mark Kerr aspires to become the greatest fighter in the world. However, he must also battle his opioid dependence and a volatile relationship with his girlfriend…
14
Palmer (2021)
★ 8.1/10Also drama
After 12 years in prison, former high school football star Eddie Palmer returns home to put his life back together—and forms an unlikely bond with Sam, an outcast boy from a troubled home. But Eddie's past threatens to…
15
Adulthood (2008)
★ 6.2/10Also crime and drama
After serving six years for killing his schoolmate, a young man learns that someone is out for revenge.
16
Get Rich or Die Tryin' (2005)
★ 6.9/10Also drama and crime
A tale of an inner city drug dealer who turns away from crime to pursue his passion, rap music.
17
American Gangster (2007)
★ 7.6/10Also drama and crime
Loosely based on the criminal career of Frank Lucas, a gangster from La Grange, North Carolina, who smuggled heroin into the United States on American service planes returning from the Vietnam War, before being…
18
A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints (2006)
★ 6.5/10Also crime and drama
Dito Montiel, a successful author, receives a call from his long-suffering mother, asking him to return home and visit his ailing father. Dito recalls his childhood growing up in a violent neighborhood in Queens, N.Y…
19
Rise of the Footsoldier (2007)
★ 6.4/10Also crime
Carlton Leach rises from one of the most feared generals of the football terraces to becoming a member of a notorious gang of criminals who rampaged their way through London and Essex in the late '80s and early '90s.
20
Layer Cake (2004)
★ 6.9/10Also drama and crime
When a seemingly straight-forward drug deal goes awry, XXXX has to break his die-hard rules and turn up the heat, not only to outwit the old regime and come out on top, but to save his own skin...