One of the greatest sports movies of all time starred a leading man who… couldn't really play. According to White Men Can't Jump director Ron Shelton, Wesley Snipes was "not a great basketball player" . He was athletic and could talk trash like a pro, but his actual basketball skills were limited . So how did he land the role of Sidney Deane? Trash talk and sheer charisma. Woody Harrelson, on the other hand, grew up playing ball in Ohio and was actually better than Snipes . In the movie, they're portrayed as equals on the court — but in real life, Harrelson could legitimately play. So what did the production do? They trained. Hard. Both actors worked with retired Detroit Pistons center Bob Lanier as their basketball coach . Six days a week, they were on the court — studying moves, watching game footage (Snipes studied Tiny Archibald tapes), and learning writer/director Ron Shelton's playbook . By the end of training, their instructors claimed both actors reached the skill level to start for an NCAA Division III team . The competition didn't stop when cameras stopped rolling. Harrelson famously bet Snipes he could dunk — even though his character couldn't. The crew lowered the rim without Snipes knowing, and Harrelson slammed it home to win the bet. Snipes recalled: "They lowered the rim and put stickum on his hands… I came out of the trailer and came back to set. He went up there and dunked it. Everyone was going crazy and I went, 'Wait a minute, something is wrong here.'" So the next time you watch Sidney Deane cross someone up on Venice Beach, remember: The man in the middle of it all was learning on the job — and absolutely crushing it. 💬 Drop a 🏀 if White Men Can't Jump is still your favorite basketball movie of all time 👇 Follow for more wild behind-the-scenes stories: ▶️ TikTok: tiktok.com/@blind.screen ▶️ IG: instagram.com/blind.screen ▶️ YouTube: youtube.com/@blind.screen #WesleySnipes #WhiteMenCantJump #WoodyHarrelson #RonShelton #90sMovies #BasketballMovies #MovieTrivia #BehindTheScenes
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next thing youll tell me is wesley had hardly hunted vampires in his life
lol Wesley had all the slow motion angles while woody had normal speed 😂
That dunk had the theater roaring
Wesley Snipes was supposed to be so bad at throwing a baseball that they never showed him doing it in Major League
Reminds me of my dad. Could not ball at all. Embarrassed the hell out of me on the court. He worked and got competent though. Much respect, "Boo" Robinson...
One of the best films ever made
that reverse spin lay up the wrong way makes sense now😂😂😂
" Hard God Damn work!!"..
One of my favorites
And they remade this master piece with jack Harlow
It was obvious that Woody was the better baller, always thought Wesley's moves were kind of pointless, but he sold it with his athleticism.
Nah demolition man played ball.
A brother that never played basketball is hilarious come on man
Good movie. I met Wesley at a party, I DJ'd, at SUNY Purchase. He was the student counsel president and handed me my check for the evening...
Right let me do my job so your job looks better we gotta get along bro 😂
It didn't look legit at all. You could tell from the first 5 seconds that Wesley didn't play basketball.
So I’m supposed to believe Wesley Snipes hardly ever touched a basketball in his life before this movie and he’s putting down off the leg two handed dunks at 5’9”?
This is the kinda stuff I like to hear about.😊
So obvious Snipes was NOT a hooper. The jump-shot always gives it away. He’s a decent athlete though. You can tell Woody played. His shot is smooth.
Loved this movie. Great insight.