Champions

Marcus Marokovich, a hot tempered but skilled assistant coach with a minor league basketball team in Iowa, lets his temper get the best of him during a game and shoves the head coach, Phil. After leaving the stadium, he gets drunk at a local bar and while driving home he hits a police car, ending up in jail. The next day he is bailed out by Phil. He gets into an argument with Phil, believing that he was right and if Phil had listened, none of the previous night would’ve happened. Phil explains why he didn’t listen to Marcus and advises him that he needs to get to know players as more than that and that they have personal lives that affect their playing. He then tells Marcus he’s been let go by the owners.When Marcus appears for his hearing, the judge gives him a choice of 18 months in prison or 90 days of community service with a local community center’s intellectually challenged basketball team, The Friends. He agrees to community service and soon realizes coaching this team will be a personal and professional challenge. At the end of the first practice, he accepts a ride home with Johnny, one of the players, only to find that the driver is a former Tinder one night stand and Johnny’s sister, Alex. He and Alex begin a casual sexual relationship while he learns how to coach the new team.The team begins to improve and Marcus soon realize that the players are more than just their skills as he gets to know them personally. As one of the team members, Darius, refuses to play for Marcus, a formerly injured player, Consentino, is put back in the rotation and Marcus meets her on their way to an away game.