The 15 best sports documentaries on Netflix now

14 Peaks: Nothing is Impossible (2021)

Climb all 14 8,000-meter peaks in seven months? Nothing’s impossible for Nepali mountaineer Nimsdai Purja. The feat seems truly insurmountable (pun intended) considering the previous record took seven years, not months. “Never giving up” is a sports cliché, but when giving up would literally result in death, the stakes speak for themselves.

Purja is an endearing figure thanks to his indomitable will to accomplish his goal. Meanwhile, the dizzying camera angles in 14 Peaks make it feel like you’re on the mountain alongside Purja.

Where to watch 14 Peaks: Nothing is Impossible: Netflix

Director: Torquil Jones

Athlete A (2020)

Athletes may appear superhuman, but they’re as susceptible to personal challenges as anyone else. Rarely is that more clear than in Athlete A, which covers the sexual abuse scandal that rocked USA women’s gymnastics. The story is told through the lens of Indianapolis Star journalists who broke the story with the help of courageous whistleblowers.

Maggie Nichols — the eponymous “Athlete A” — first came forward to bring to light Dr. Larry Nassar’s longstanding abuse of gymnasts. The heartbreaking yet hopeful film explores how such institutional abuse could get swept under the rug, while offering some form of catharsis in the long-delayed justice.

Where to watch Athlete A: Netflix

EW grade: A- (read the review)

Directors: Bonni Cohen and Jon Shenk

Beckham (2023)

If you’ve ever wanted to know what it’s truly like to bend it like Beckham, Netflix’s four-part docuseries on the soccer phenomenon gives you the full experience. Fans don’t just get a look at his legacy on the pitch, but his status as a cultural icon, his life behind the scenes (before, during, and after his tenure on the field), and his life with wife Victoria Beckham, including how their romance affected his career.

Beckham features a solid balance of archival footage and candid present-day interviews, never shying away from his career lows — including how fame affected his temper — or his contradictions.

Where to watch Beckham: Netflix

Director: Fisher Stevens

Court of Gold (2025)

America has long ruled international basketball, and American-born players have dominated the NBA. That’s not necessarily the case anymore, as Court of Gold demonstrates by exploring basketball’s global growth through an Olympic lens. The series primarily focuses on Canada, featuring 2025 NBA MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander; Serbia, led by 3-time MVP Nikola Jokic; France, led by 7-foot-2 phenom Victor Wembanyama; and Team USA, led by veteran superstars LeBron James, Stephen Curry, and Kevin Durant.

Featuring compelling interviews and up-close glimpses at major moments, including Curry’s “Golden Dagger” in the Gold Medal game, this docuseries shows how hoops has become a universal language.

Where to watch Court of Gold: Netflix

Producers: Barack Obama and Michelle Obama

Formula 1: Drive to Survive (2019–present)

Rev your engines for this intimate look at the high-speed, high-stakes world of racing in Formula 1: Drive to Survive. If you enjoyed Brad Pitt’s blockbuster F1: The Movie (2025), or if you’ve ever had racing dreams of your own, good news: This series puts you behind the wheel with dazzling, first-person camerawork.

It goes into granular detail about what the sport demands on a day-to-day basis, from car maintenance to the drivers’ constant training in the gym and on the track. With the seventh season focusing on all-time great Lewis Hamilton, this series isn’t slowing down.

Where to watch Formula 1: Drive to Survive: Netflix

Full Swing (2023–present)

From the creators of Formula 1: Drive to Survive comes Full Swing, a similarly — and surprisingly — high-octane look at some of the best golfers in the world, from Rory McIlroy to Scottie Scheffler. The docuseries explores the grueling, thrilling nature of the PGA Tour, taking audiences inside the intense preparation and the highs and lows of golf.

Full Swing captures the unique tension of the sport, at times making viewers feel like they’re on the green themselves. The series is so intertwined with the F1 counterpart that competitors from both sports met on the links in 2023’s Netflix Cup.

Where to watch Full Swing: Netflix

Icarus (2017)

If you’re fascinated by secrets, lies, and scandals, you can’t get much more scandalous than Icarus. The Oscar-winning documentary casts its eye on doping in sports — specifically, a Russian doping program purported to have been operational for decades, particularly in Olympic competition. It includes interviews with Russian scientists who were involved, honing in on Grigory Rodchenkov, head of the Moscow Anti-Doping Agency.

As Rodchenkov tells it, he was tasked with coming up with ways for athletes to pass drug tests while taking performance-enhancing substances. His confessions — in which he cites the involvement of Vladimir Putin — make for captivating drama. 

Where to watch Icarus: Netflix

Director: Bryan Fogel

Last Chance U (2016–2020)

If you enjoy Friday Night Lights, Ted Lasso, or any good underdog story for that matter, you’ll love Last Chance U. Like its fictional counterparts, this docuseries illustrates how sports bring communities — and unlikely groups of people — together. Each season takes place at a lower-division college populated by football players whose personal mistakes and setbacks landed them there instead of more prestigious programs. Proving themselves here may be their last opportunity to make their gridiron dreams come true.

The cinematic camerawork brings every touchdown and big hit to vivid life. The players themselves, and the stories that brought them here, do the rest.

Where to watch Last Chance U: Netflix

EW grade: A (read the review)

Last Chance U: Basketball (2021)

Like the football-centric original, Last Chance U: Basketball sees players with rough backgrounds chase the few opportunities they have left. But the change in sport provides a more intimate backdrop. There are no helmets in hoops; here, the emotional stakes are painted all over the players’ faces.

The subjects each have their own fascinating stories, and many of the coaches have similar backgrounds, forging connections that may run a little deeper than your typical player/coach dynamic. The traditional sports movie playbook — montages, team-building retreats in the mountains, inspirational speeches — carries this spinoff series the rest of the way.

Where to watch Last Chance U: Basketball: Netflix

EW grade: A- (read the review)

The Last Dance (2020)

Michael Jordan is not just one of the most iconic names in sports history, but in all of American history. That alone made The Last Dance must-see TV, but its raw depiction of his intense personality and prickly competitiveness made it special. This mid-pandemic smash hit covers MJ’s final year with the Chicago Bulls, as they look to add one more championship trophy — their sixth in eight years — to their dynasty.

Given ownership’s desire to break up the team for financial reasons, it was a tension-filled season, making the documentary’s never-before-seen backstage footage unexpected and often astonishing.

Where to watch The Last Dance: Netflix

Director: Jason Hehir

Cast: Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen, Dennis Rodman, Phil Jackson

Naomi Osaka (2021)

Naomi Osaka was a tennis phenomenon — having won two Grand Slam titles by age 22 — who soon became a lightning rod over the subject of mental health in sports. This documentary offers an intense look at the sacrifices required to achieve that greatness, as well as the external costs; with notoriety comes the loss of privacy.

The series gives an honest portrayal of her struggles as she balances tennis, her social activism in the wake of George Floyd’s death, and the loss of her mentor, Kobe Bryant. It’s a portrait of Osaka’s push to achieve greatness, contrasted with her struggle to embrace fame.

Where to watch Naomi Osaka: Netflix

Director: Garrett Bradley

Quarterback (2023–present)

As Hall of Famer Peyton Manning states during Quarterback’s opening scene, there’s no position more challenging or important in sports than an NFL quarterback. The series’ two seasons focus on three active quarterbacks, intertwining and contrasting their stories throughout the tense runtime.

The show gives fans an inside look at classic moments from recent NFL history as well as personal glimpses of the players’ lives behind the scenes, showing the grueling work and physical toll the job requires. Notably, Patrick Mahomes playing through a high-ankle sprain to win a come-from-behind Super Bowl made for an all-time great TV season finale.

Where to watch Quarterback: Netflix

Cast: Patrick Mahomes, Kirk Cousins, Jared Goff, Joe Burrow, Marcus Mariota

The Redeem Team (2022)

At the 2004 Olympics in Athens, Team USA shocked the world… by not bringing home the gold. It was the first time since pros were allowed to compete that the Americans didn’t win big. Flash-forward four years, and they were eager for redemption in Beijing. League MVP Kobe Bryant led a 2008 squad featuring a young LeBron James alongside Dwyane Wade, Carmelo Anthony, Chris Paul, and more.

The Redeem Team’s most entertaining stories revolve around Bryant’s maniacal work ethic. Whether he’s showing up to morning workouts already drenched in sweat or running through Lakers teammate Pau Gasol during the Gold Medal game, his intensity is both entertaining and inspiring.

Where to watch The Redeem Team: Netflix

Director: Jon Weinbach

Simone Biles Rising (2024)

Not only is Simone Biles considered the greatest gymnast of all time, but she’s arguably become the face of preserving mental health in sports. Simone Biles Rising is a four-part look into everything that helped her achieve greatness and overcome challenges, including Biles’ perspective on her decision to exit the Tokyo Olympics amid a bout with “the twisties.”

The documentary also follows her Olympic comeback at the 2024 Games in Paris, capturing her triumphant performance as she braved a calf injury to win Olympic gold — several, actually — yet again.

Where to watch Simone Biles Rising: Netflix

Director: Katie Walsh

Untold (2021–present)

If you’re interested in the controversial side of sports, Untold is for you. Each season consists of three mini documentaries detailing stories that dominated headlines and crossed over into broader pop culture. Episodes explore such infamous events as the “Malice at the Palace” — the 2004 brawl between the Indiana Pacers, Detroit Pistons, and the fans themselves — and the murder of former NFL star quarterback Steve McNair.

Other entries focus on specific figures, like Brett Favre and his post-NFL scandals, Heisman Trophy winner turned NFL bust Johnny Manziel, social media star turned boxer Jake Paul, and disgraced influencer the Liver King. 

Where to watch Untold: Netflix