Past Film/Video | Classics

Love & Basketball

(Gina Prince-Bythewood, 2000) 

Introduced by Hanif Abdurraqib

Still from Love & Basketball of a woman dribbling a basketball wearing a basketball uniform.

An on-screen romance with chemistry to spare and an insightful portrayal of the challenges faced by female athletes—all set to one of the great R&B soundtracks of the decade. 

Love & Basketball follows a sports-fueled, on-again, off-again romance from childhood to the pros between Monica Wright and Quincy McCall (played by Sanaa Lathan and Omar Epps). As they grow, the couple navigates their individual commitments to basketball and their evolving feelings for each other. This cult classic love story was the debut feature from Gina Prince-Bythewood, who would go on to direct The Secret Life of Bees (2008) and The Woman King (2022). (127 mins., DCP)

See the entire Pick and Reels: Basketball on Screen lineup.

IMAGE CAPTION
Love & Basketball, courtesy of Warner Bros.

"A passionate love letter to basketball and friendship and Black love and ambition."
Roxane Gay, the Criterion Collection

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About the speaker

Hanif Abdurraqib chevron-down chevron-up

Hanif Abdurraqib is a poet, essayist, and cultural critic from Columbus, Ohio, who has been published in the New York TimesNew YorkerFADER, and Pitchfork. His first full-length poetry collection, The Crown Ain’t Worth Much (Button Poetry, 2016) was named a finalist for the Eric Hoffer Book Award and nominated for a Hurston/Wright Legacy Award. His first collection of essays, They Can’t Kill Us Until They Kill Us (Two Dollar Radio, 2017) was named a book of the year by Esquire, NPR, Oprah MagazinePasteLos Angeles Review, and the Chicago Tribune, among others. His critically acclaimed Go Ahead in the Rain: Notes to a Tribe Called Quest (University of Texas, 2019) is a New York Times Bestseller and A Little Devil in America: Notes in Praise of Black Performance (2021) was a finalist for the National Book Award. His next book, There’s Always This Year: On Basketball and Ascension will be released in March 2024. Learn more on Abdurraqib's website.

FILM/VIDEO PROGRAMS MADE POSSIBLE BY
National Endowment for the Arts
Ohio Humanities

ADDITIONAL SUPPORT PROVIDED BY
Rohauer Collection Foundation

WEXNER CENTER PROGRAMS MADE POSSIBLE BY
Ohio Department of Development
Greater Columbus Arts Council
The Wexner Family
Institute of Museum and Library Services
Ohio Arts Council, with support from the National Endowment for the Arts
CampusParc
Ohio State’s Global Arts + Humanities Discovery Theme
The Columbus Foundation
Nationwide Foundation
Vorys, Sater, Seymour, and Pease

ADDITIONAL SUPPORT PROVIDED BY
Mike and Paige Crane
Axium Packaging
Nancy Kramer
Ohio State Energy Partners
Ohio History Fund/Ohio History Connection
Larry and Donna James
David Crane and Elizabeth Dang
Bruce and Joy Soll
Rebecca Perry Damsen and Ben Towle
Jones Day
Alex and Renée Shumate

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Past Film/Video

Love & Basketball