Love & Basketball, Gina Prince-Bythewood’s directorial debut, is a rare romantic drama that has stood the test of time. This complex love story between neighbors (and fellow basketball lovers) Monica Wright (Sanaa Lathan) and Quincy “Q” McCall (Omar Epps) follows them through four distinct quarters of their lives as they come together, break apart, and reunite.
While the film was initially an underappreciated gem, its induction into the National Film Registry in 2023 has solidified its place as a staple of contemporary Black culture and American cinema. Love & Basketball’s cast was stacked with established veterans and rising stars, many of whom continue to make their mark in movies to this day.
On its 25th anniversary, let’s take a look at the cast of Love & Basketball, then and now.
Sanaa Lathan (Monica Wright)
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Sanaa Lathan plays headstrong, vulnerable, basketball-obsessed Monica, who falls for next-door neighbor Quincy when she’s 11.
“What a gift it was that I was able to, at a young age, play this amazing, fierce character in this beloved movie,” she told PEOPLE in 2024. “It became this thing where people watched it over and over and over again.”
Lathan’s nuanced portrayal was her first lead role after a string of supporting and guest spots. She was the daywalker’s mother in Blade (1998) before appearing in coming-of-age rom-coms The Wood (1999) and The Best Man (1999). After her Independent Spirit Award-nominated performance in Love & Basketball, she paired up with Taye Diggs for Brown Sugar (2002) and Denzel Washington for Out of Time (2003) before delivering a Tony-nominated turn in A Raisin in the Sun.
No stranger to genre work, the actress was the final girl in Alien vs. Predator (2004) and went on to appear in Steven Soderbergh’s Contagion (2011) while picking up regular voice acting gigs as Catwoman on Harley Quinn (2019–present) and Cleveland’s wife on The Cleveland Show (2009–2013). Her guest work on Succession (2021) earned an Emmy nomination.
Lathan is vocally single and advocates for women to choose themselves until, and unless, they find the right partner. She was notably dating her Love & Basketball costar Omar Epps during filming.
Omar Epps (Quincy McCall)
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Omar Epps plays Quincy, Monica’s next-door neighbor, hoops rival, and eventual one-and-only.
The actor confessed to ESPN in 2020 that he didn’t really know how to hoop before the film came around. He had to learn from on the fly. When it came to acting, however, he was already a Hollywood staple, having starred in such high-profile films as Juice (1992) alongside Tupac Shakur, John Singleton’s Higher Learning (1995), and Wes Craven’s Scream 2 (1997) — not to mention The Wood, where he first paired up with Lathan.
Since the turn of the century, Epps has become a television staple, joining the main cast of House (2004–2012) before booking Resurrection (2013–2015), Shooter (2016–2018), and Power Book III: Raising Kanan (2021–present). He also had a small but mighty role in the beloved drama This Is Us (2019–2020).
Epps has been married to R&B singer Keisha Spivey since 2006. They have a daughter and a son together. He also has a daughter from a previous relationship.
Alfre Woodard (Camille Wright)
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Alfre Woodard plays Monica’s genteel housewife mom, Camille, the polar opposite of her combative younger daughter.
Woodard, of course, needs no introduction, as one of the most acclaimed figures in American acting. She’s been nominated for every award under the sun and was named one of the 25 greatest actors of the 21st century by The New York Times.
The actress’s Oscar-nominated performance in Cross Creek (1983) established her for good. In the ensuing years, roles in John Sayles’ Passion Fish (1992), Spike Lee’s Crooklyn (1994), and Maya Angelou’s Down in the Delta (1998) secured her reputation. She once again played Sanaa Lathan’s mother in the rom-com Something New (2006), delivered a show-stopping one-scene performance in Best Picture winner 12 Years a Slave (2013), and earned a BAFTA nomination as a conflicted prison warden in Clemency (2019).
The Tulsa native also has two Marvel characters to her name — as a regular on Luke Cage (2016–2018) and as a grieving mother in Captain America: Civil War (2016). Most recently, she appeared in The Book of Clarence (2023) and Salem’s Lot (2024).
Woodard has been married to writer Roderick Spencer since 1983. They have a daughter and a son.
Dennis Haysbert (Zeke McCall)
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Dennis Haysbert was Quincy’s tough-minded father Zeke, an NBA player who demands more from his son than to simply follow in Dad’s footsteps.
This wasn’t the first sports role for Haysbert, whose breakthrough role was superstitious slugger Pedro Serrano in Major League (1989). After memorable turns in the likes of Heat (1995), Waiting to Exhale (1995), and Clint Eastwood’s Absolute Power (1997), the actor cemented himself in our collective memory yet again as President David Palmer on 24 (2001–2007).
The man with the voice has never slowed down. He headlined David Mamet’s military series The Unit (2006–2009) while making his presence felt on the big screen in Far from Heaven (2002), Jarhead (2005), and Dear White People (2014). He even played God on Lucifer (2020–2021). Of course, he admits most people recognize him from those Allstate ads.
Harry Lennix (Nathan Wright)
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Harry Lennix plays Monica’s supportive but quietly demanding father.
Lennix is one of the most ubiquitous faces across movies and TV. He was a standout in Spike Lee’s Get on the Bus (1996), then brought Shakespeare to modern life in Titus (1999) before achieving cult fandom on Joss Whedon’s Dollhouse (2009–2010). He later spent a decade as an FBI heavyweight on The Blacklist (2013–2023).
The Chicago native had a recurring role on Billions (2016–2023) and another in the DC universe, showing up in Man of Steel (2013), Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016), and Zack Snyder’s Justice League (2021).
Lennix has been married to businesswoman Djena Graves since 2009.
Debbi Morgan (Nona McCall)
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Debbi Morgan plays Quincy’s mother, and Zeke’s aggrieved wife, Nona.
It was a rare big-screen performance for the veteran, who by that point was a soap-opera legend. In 1989, she became the first African American to win a Daytime Emmy for supporting actress, for her long-running role in All My Children (1982–2011). She later became the first Black woman nominated in the lead category.
Her soap career has included long runs on Generations (1990–1991), Loving (1983–1995), The City (1995–1997), and Port Charles (1997–1998). During that time, she squeezed in roles in acclaimed films like Eve’s Bayou (1997) and The Hurricane (1999).
Morgan’s television résumé includes multiple installments of the Power franchise, a guest spot on Marvel’s The Defenders (2017), and a role on Tyler Perry’s Netflix drama Beauty in Black (2024–present).
Morgan married Jeffrey Winston in 2009.
Regina Hall (Lena Wright)
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As Monica’s fashionista sister, Regina Hall made the most out of a small role.
Hall broke through in a big way in the comedy world, starring in four Scary Movie (2000) installments. That’s hardly her only long-running franchise: her rom-coms The Best Man (1999) and Think Like a Man (2012) spawned sequels as well.
Hall has been able to show off her dramatic chops in Law Abiding Citizen (2009), The Hate U Give (2018), and the indie dramedy Support the Girls (2018), for which she became the first Black woman to win the New York Film Critics Circle’s Best Actress award.
She made a fearsome comedy foursome — alongside Tiffany Haddish, Queen Latifah, and Jada Pinkett Smith — that spun box-office gold in the raunchy hit Girls Trip (2017). Most recently, she earned acclaim for her performance in the satirical mockumentary Honk for Jesus. Save Your Soul. (2022) as the wife of a closeted pastor. Later this year, she teams up with Leonardo DiCaprio for Paul Thomas Anderson’s One Battle After Another (2025).
Hall is a deeply spiritual woman and tried to become a nun twice — first at age 14 and again at 40. During the second attempt, she discovered she had passed the cutoff age — and nope, it wasn’t a joke!
Gabrielle Union (Shawnee)
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Gabrielle Union has a small, pivotal role as Shawnee, a would-be romantic rival who takes Q to the spring dance — but doesn’t get what she wants afterward.
The same year, she hit it big with another generational sports movie, Bring It On (2000), as the rival school’s head cheerleader. Union carved out a niche in romantic comedies, starring in Two Can Play That Game (2001), Deliver Us from Eva (2003), and Breakin’ All the Rules (2004), in addition to action flicks like Cradle 2 the Grave (2003).
The veteran actress reinforced her romantic bonafides in the starry ensemble movies Think Like a Man and Think Like a Man Too (2014) while finding a home on TV in Being Mary Jane (2013–2019). She later reprised her Bad Boys II (2003) character in the cop procedural L.A.’s Finest (2019–2020).
The actress, author, and LGBTQ activist has been married to real-life basketball star Dwyane Wade since 2014. They share one daughter, and she is a stepmom to Wade’s three other children.
Tyra Banks (Kyra)
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The queen of smizing herself, Tyra Banks lovingly walks through the final quarter of Love & Basketball as Quincy’s fiancée Kyra — before being dumped (off-screen) just two weeks before the big day.
If Kyra’s life turned out even a fraction as well as Tyra’s did, we can stop feeling sorry for her. The legendary supermodel — and the first Black woman to grace the cover of Sports Illustrated’s swimsuit issue — has been the face of America’s Next Top Model since 2003. Banks has also hosted The Tyra Banks Show (2005–2011), America’s Got Talent (2017–2018), and Dancing With the Stars (2020–2022).
Her acting has been intermittent since an early career arc on The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air (1993). She did, however, share a screen romance with Epps in Higher Learning and was later part of the bar-dancing ensemble in Coyote Ugly (2000).
Banks has one son, born in 2016, with her ex-boyfriend Erik Asla.
Kyla Pratt (Young Monica)
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The task of establishing Monica as a young badass from the start fell on Kyla Pratt.
The actress has been a showbiz workhorse for decades now. Before landing her pivotal Love & Basketball role, the L.A. native had been a perpetual guest star on TV, appearing in everything from ER (1996) and Living Single (1995) to Friends (1996) and Family Matters (1997). That was mere prologue to her long-running lead roles on UPN’s One on One (2001–2006) and The Proud Family (2001–2005) as the voice of Penny.
She was Eddie Murphy’s daughter in the smash hit Dr. Dolittle (1998) — and its four sequels — and has continued to pile up TV work. In recent years, she guest-starred on Issa Rae’s Insecure (2020) and booked a regular gig on Call Me Kat (2021–2023) opposite Mayim Bialik.
Pratt was also briefly a reality star on Black Ink Crew: Compton (2019), alongside her partner Danny Kirkpatrick, a tattoo artist and rapper, with whom she shares two children.
Glenndon Chatman (Young Quincy)
New Line Cinema; Alberto E. Rodriguez/WireImage
As young Q, Glenndon Chatman brings a real energy to the film’s first quarter, as Love & Basketball establishes Quincy and Monica’s relationship.
Chatman had previously popped up on Coach (1997), 7th Heaven (1998), The Jamie Foxx Show (1998), and Moesha (1999). He was no stranger to basketball movies either — he was cast as Air Jordan’s brother Larry in the made-for-TV biopic, Michael Jordan: An American Hero (1999).
As years passed, he appeared in The District (2002), Judging Amy (2003), and the Disney Channel original movie The Luck of the Irish (2001) before taking a break from the screen as he reached adulthood.
Chatman has recently returned with a handful of small roles in No Regrets (2016) and episodes of Shut Eye (2017) and For the People (2018).
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