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The Worst Episodes of 30 for 30

Every episode of 30 for 30 ranked from worst to best. Explore the Worst Episodes of 30 for 30!

Worst episode
S1E28 Marion Jones: Press Pause
5.3749 votes
Best episode
S1E25 Once Brothers
8.53,597 votes
Top season
Season 3
7.3avg
Binge time
7d 0h
141 episodes
BestEpisodes
WorstEpisodes
BestSeasons
AllEpisodes

Seasons4

All1234

Episode Rankings

  1. #1 Worst Episode
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    30 for 30 Season 1 Episode 28 - Marion Jones: Press Pause
    5.3/10(749 votes)

    S1:E28

    The successful track and field career of Marion Jones, her 2007 admission of performance-enhancing drug use, and subsequent prison sentence.

    Director:John Singleton
    Writer:Unknown

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  2. 30 for 30 Season 2 Episode 3 - There's No Place Like Home
    5.8/10(674 votes)

    S2:E3

    The story of one fan's obsessive quest to purchase, at a 2010 auction, James Naismith's original rules of basketball, perhaps the most important historical document in American sports history, and to bring it "home" to Lawrence, Kansas, where Naismith taught and coached at the University of Kansas for 39 years. (70 mins in length)

    Directors:Josh Swade, Maura Mandt
    Writer:Unknown

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  3. 30 for 30 Season 4 Episode 22 - The Greatest Mixtape Ever
    5.7/10(202 votes)

    S4:E22

    The documentary examines how 1990s streetball and the And1 Mixtape transformed basketball culture at large. In the late 1990s, a burgeoning young New York City DJ, Set Free, had the idea to set some grainy streetball highlights to a soundtrack of emerging rap music. The results culminated in what came to be known as the And1 Mixtape, a series of VHS tapes that forever transformed the game of basketball.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  4. 30 for 30 Season 1 Episode 20 - One Night in Vegas
    6.2/10(661 votes)

    S1:E20

    The friendship of boxer Mike Tyson and rapper Tupac Shakur and the night of September 7, 1996, when Shakur was murdered after attending the Tyson-Bruce Seldon fight in Las Vegas.

    Director:Reggie Rock Bythewood
    Writer:Unknown

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  5. 30 for 30 Season 3 Episode 32 - The Good, The Bad, The Hungry
    6.1/10(420 votes)

    S3:E32

    A look at one of the biggest rivalries in sports, that of competitive eaters Takeru Kobayashi and Joey Chestnut.

    Director:Nicole Lucas Haimes
    Writer:Unknown

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  6. 30 for 30 Season 3 Episode 19 - Mike and the Mad Dog
    6.2/10(489 votes)

    S3:E19

    The careers of Mike Francesa and Chris Russo, their stormy 19-year partnership on New York City radio; and the duo's influence on their Big Apple audience and sports talk radio in general.

    Director:Daniel H. Forer
    Writer:Unknown

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  7. 30 for 30 Season 1 Episode 22 - The House of Steinbrenner
    6.3/10(858 votes)

    S1:E22

    The legacy of George Steinbrenner's ownership of the New York Yankees.

    Director:Barbara Kopple
    Writer:Unknown

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  8. 30 for 30 Season 1 Episode 11 - Silly Little Game
    6.4/10(910 votes)

    S1:E11

    Meeting at New York City's La Rotisserie Francaise restaurant in 1980, a group of writers and academics develop Rotisserie Fantasy baseball, only to see it take off in popularity and leave them behind.

    Directors:Adam Kurland, Lucas Jansen
    Writer:Unknown

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  9. 30 for 30 Season 1 Episode 19 - Little Big Men
    6.4/10(670 votes)

    S1:E19

    A look at the Kirkland National Little League team's success at the 1982 Little League World Series, examining why their title win is considered one of the biggest upsets in the event's history.

    Director:Al Szymanski
    Writer:Unknown

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  10. 30 for 30 Season 1 Episode 21 - Unmatched
    6.4/10(661 votes)

    S1:E21

    A look at the rivalry and friendship between tennis legends Chris Evert and Martina Navratilova.

    Directors:Lisa Lax, Nancy Stern Winters
    Writer:Unknown

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  11. 30 for 30 Season 4 Episode 13 - The Infinite Race
    6.1/10(208 votes)

    S4:E13

    The story of the Tarahumara, an indigenous community in Mexico, famed for their legendary running ability, and their preference for running barefoot, who inspired an ultrarunning craze across the world, and what's happened as their homes and communities were ravaged by drug cartels and violence.

    Director:Bernardo Ruiz
    Writer:Unknown

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  12. 30 for 30 Season 1 Episode 6 - The Legend of Jimmy the Greek
    6.5/10(1004 votes)

    S1:E6

    The life of Jimmy "the Greek" Snyder, from his career as a Las Vegas bookmaker to his tenure on The NFL Today, from which he was fired in 1988.

    Director:Fritz Mitchell
    Writer:Unknown

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  13. 30 for 30 Season 4 Episode 9 - The Life and Trials of Oscar Pistorius Part 1
    6.4/10(431 votes)

    S4:E9

    Part 1 of 4. The life of South African Paralympic sprinter Oscar Pistorius, from his childhood during the last days of apartheid, to worldwide celebrity as the first double-leg amputee to compete in the able-bodied Olympics, to his conviction for killing his girlfriend.

    Director:Daniel Gordon
    Writer:Unknown

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  14. 30 for 30 Season 1 Episode 14 - Straight Outta L.A.
    6.6/10(1178 votes)

    S1:E14

    The relationship between the Raiders and the minority fan base in Los Angeles during the team's 13 seasons in L.A.

    Director:Ice Cube
    Writer:Unknown

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  15. 30 for 30 Season 4 Episode 10 - The Life and Trials of Oscar Pistorius Part 2
    6.3/10(178 votes)

    S4:E10

    Part 2 of 4. The life of South African Paralympic sprinter Oscar Pistorius, from his childhood during the last days of apartheid, to worldwide celebrity as the first double-leg amputee to compete in the able-bodied Olympics, to his conviction for killing his girlfriend.

    Director:Daniel Gordon
    Writer:Unknown

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  16. 30 for 30 Season 1 Episode 26 - Tim Richmond: To the Limit
    6.6/10(641 votes)

    S1:E26

    The career of NASCAR driver Tim Richmond, his flamboyant lifestyle, and his 1989 death from AIDS.

    Director:Rory Karpf
    Writer:Unknown

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  17. 30 for 30 Season 1 Episode 1 - King's Ransom
    6.7/10(1720 votes)

    S1:E1

    The 1988 trade of Wayne Gretzky from the Edmonton Oilers to the Los Angeles Kings and the effect it had on Gretzky, the fans in Edmonton, and the popularity of hockey in Southern California.

    Director:Peter Berg
    Writer:Unknown

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  18. 30 for 30 Season 4 Episode 11 - The Life and Trials of Oscar Pistorius Part 3
    6.4/10(178 votes)

    S4:E11

    Part 3 of 4. The life of South African Paralympic sprinter Oscar Pistorius, from his childhood during the last days of apartheid, to worldwide celebrity as the first double-leg amputee to compete in the able-bodied Olympics, to his conviction for killing his girlfriend.

    Director:Daniel Gordon
    Writer:Unknown

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  19. 30 for 30 Season 4 Episode 12 - The Life and Trials of Oscar Pistorius Part 4
    6.4/10(178 votes)

    S4:E12

    Part 4 of 4. The life of South African Paralympic sprinter Oscar Pistorius, from his childhood during the last days of apartheid, to worldwide celebrity as the first double-leg amputee to compete in the able-bodied Olympics, to his conviction for killing his girlfriend.

    Director:Daniel Gordon
    Writer:Unknown

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  20. 30 for 30 Season 1 Episode 2 - The Band That Wouldn't Die
    6.7/10(1089 votes)

    S1:E2

    A profile of Baltimore's love affair with football and the Colts, focusing on the Colts Marching Band. After the Colts decamped for Indianapolis in 1984, the band stayed behind to help promote the eventual return of the NFL to the city.

    Director:Barry Levinson
    Writer:Unknown

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  21. 30 for 30 Season 3 Episode 29 - Deion's Double Play
    6.7/10(726 votes)

    S3:E29

    A look at Pro Football Hall of Famer Deion Sanders, focusing specifically on a 24-hour span in 1992 when he sandwiched an NFL game between a pair of Major League Baseball postseason games in cities separated by 1,000 miles.

    Director:Ken Rodgers
    Writer:Unknown

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  22. 30 for 30 Season 2 Episode 10 - Free Spirits
    6.7/10(658 votes)

    S2:E10

    The story of the colorful figures who made up the American Basketball Association's Spirits of St. Louis, and how Spirits owners Ozzie and Daniel Silna, with their team about to be left out in the ABA's merger with the NBA, managed to negotiate a deal that allowed the brothers' involvement in pro basketball to continue in a most unusual fashion. (60 mins in length)

    Director:Daniel H. Forer
    Writer:Unknown

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  23. 30 for 30 Season 4 Episode 15 - Breakaway
    6.5/10(160 votes)

    S4:E15

    Maya Moore, one of women's basketball's most decorated players, stepped away from her sport to advocate for a man she believed to be wrongly imprisoned—a cause that changed her life in unexpected ways.

    Director:Rudy Valdez
    Writer:Unknown

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  24. 30 for 30 Season 1 Episode 18 - Jordan Rides the Bus
    6.8/10(1725 votes)

    S1:E18

    Motivated by the dream his late father had for him, Michael Jordan retires from basketball and has a brief career in minor league baseball.

    Director:Ron Shelton
    Writer:Unknown

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  25. 30 for 30 Season 3 Episode 30 - The Dominican Dream
    6.7/10(314 votes)

    S3:E30

    The highs and lows of Felipe López, born into a family of Dominican immigrants to become a star high school and (at St. John's) collegiate basketball player, and the contentment he finds after a less-than-successful pro career.

    Director:Jonathan Hock
    Writer:Unknown

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Worst Episodes Summary

"Marion Jones: Press Pause" is the worst rated episode of 30 for 30. It scored 5.3/10 from 749 votes. Directed by John Singleton and written by Unknown, it aired on November 2, 2010. This episode scored 0.5 points lower than the second lowest rated, "There's No Place Like Home".

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