5. He Got Game
Two words: Jesus Shuttlesworth. This movie influenced me in so many ways. Where do I begin? No longer did I reference Michael Jordan when I saw a friend make a sick play. It was Jesus, baby. It set the course of my NBA fandom for years to come. Ray Allen became and still is to this day my favorite player in the NBA. I was a big man. Do you think I was banging down low? I'll answer for you. No sir. I was J'ing from mid-range and downtown. I was perfecting my game. I was relentless and wasn't satisfied until I heard those three words whispered from my peers, "He Got Game". I was Jesus Shuttlesworth. Okay...maybe not that serious, but that was all in my head at least. An idol wasn't the only thing I took from this film. This was my introduction to Spike Lee as a director. This was my introduction to the other side of sports. This was my first time peaking behind the curtain of the glitz and glamor that covers the athlete. I felt for Jesus. I was too young to have experienced these same types of issues at the time, but looking back now I can see that it was dead on. The pressure can almost be felt when watching it now. It's an eye opening experience when we see that the guy that we think just has it all and has nothing to complain about and nothing to worry about except just playing a kids game actually may have more going on outside of the world of sports. He has a real life, with real pressures, with real issues, and with real emotions. That is what I was able to take from this film and it is what resonates within me forever. Never judge a book by its cover. To be specific, never judge an athlete without knowing what is really going on in their life outside of what we see in the papers. They are real people just like you and I. Even Jesus lived the life of a normal man.