30 for 30 backdrop
Documentary

The Best Episodes of 30 for 30 Season 2

Every episode of 30 for 30 Season 2 ranked from best to worst. Discover the Best Episodes of 30 for 30 Season 2!

Binge this in 1d 7h•Peaking at 8.5/10

30 for 30 is the title for a series of documentary films airing on ESPN, its sister networks, and online highlighting interesting people and events in sports history. This currently includes four "volumes" of 30

Airs on
ESPN
BestEpisodes
WorstEpisodes
BestSeasons
AllEpisodes

Seasons4

All1234

Episode Rankings

  1. #1 Fan Favorite
    30 for 30 Season 2 Episode 1 - Broke
    6.9/10(1749 votes)

    #1 - Broke

    S2:E1

    An exploration of the road to fortune in sports and the eventual detours (for various reasons) to financial difficulties and bankruptcy, as experienced by top athletes including Leon Searcy, Andre Rison, Keith McCants, Bernie Kosar, and Cliff Floyd.

    Director:Billy Corben
    Writer:Unknown

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  2. 30 for 30 Season 2 Episode 2 - 9.79*
    7.6/10(1063 votes)

    #2 - 9.79*

    S2:E2

    A profile of the Men's 100-meter final at the 1988 Summer Olympics and the lives of the eight men who participated, including Ben Johnson (whose world record of 9.79 seconds was annulled after he tested positive for anabolic steroids) and Carl Lewis (who was awarded the gold medal after Johnson's disqualification).

    Director:Daniel Gordon
    Writer:Unknown

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  3. 30 for 30 Season 2 Episode 3 - There's No Place Like Home
    5.8/10(659 votes)

    #3 - There's No Place Like Home

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quest to purchase, at a 2010 auction, James Naismith's original rules of basketball, perhaps the most important historical document in American sports history, and to bring it "home" to Lawrence, Kansas, where Naismith taught and coached at the University of Kansas for 39 years.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

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  4. 30 for 30 Season 2 Episode 4 - Benji
    7.3/10(849 votes)

    #4 - Benji

    S2:E4

    The life of Ben Wilson, a well-regarded Chicago high school basketball star, and how his November 1984 murder (one day before the start of his senior season) had a wide-ranging impact.

    Directors:Coodie Simmons, Chike Ozah
    Writer:Unknown

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  5. 30 for 30 Season 2 Episode 5 - Ghosts of Ole Miss
    6.8/10(644 votes)

    #5 - Ghosts of Ole Miss

    S2:E5

    Mississippi native Wright Thompson explores tumultuous events of 1962, when the University of Mississippi campus both erupted in violence over integration and swelled with pride over its unbeaten football team, and how those incidents continue to shape the state 50 years later. (60 mins in length)

    Director:Fritz Mitchell
    Writer:Unknown

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  6. 30 for 30 Season 2 Episode 6 - You Don't Know Bo
    8.1/10(1779 votes)

    #6 - You Don't Know Bo

    S2:E6

    A profile of Bo Jackson and how his college and professional feats in two sports (baseball and football) captured the public's imagination and made Jackson a cultural (and marketing) icon.

    Director:Michael Bonfiglio
    Writer:Unknown

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

    7. Trending NowTRENDING NOW

    The 20 BEST Episodes of 30 for 30

    READ
  7. 30 for 30 Season 2 Episode 7 - Survive and Advance
    8.5/10(1468 votes)

    #7 - Survive and Advance

    S2:E7

    A look at the NC State Wolfpack men's basketball team's successful and improbable championship runs through the 1983 ACC and the 1983 NCAA tournaments. (2 hrs in length)

    Director:Jonathan Hock
    Writer:Unknown

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  8. 30 for 30 Season 2 Episode 8 - Elway to Marino
    7.6/10(1244 votes)

    #8 - Elway to Marino

    S2:E8

    A look at the 1983 NFL Draft and the six quarterbacks taken in its first round, specifically John Elway (the first overall pick) and Dan Marino (the last QB picked in Round 1). The film features the recollections of Martin Demoff, the agent for both Elway and Marino, who shares a personal diary he kept to chronicle teams' interest in his two future-Hall of Fame clients. This includes the indecision the Baltimore Colts had with drafting Elway with the first pick or trading it away, and how Marino's selection status plummeted after recording weaker senior year statistics and rumors of recreational drug use.

    Director:Ken Rodgers
    Writer:Unknown

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  9. 30 for 30 Season 2 Episode 9 - Hawaiian: The Legend of Eddie Aikau
    7.0/10(621 votes)

    #9 - Hawaiian: The Legend of Eddie Aikau

    S2:E9

    A chronicling of the life of Eddie Aikau, a big wave surfer and lifeguard whose death served as inspiration to an entire spiritual movement.

    Director:Sam George
    Writer:Unknown

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  10. 30 for 30 Season 2 Episode 10 - Free Spirits
    6.7/10(642 votes)

    #10 - Free Spirits

    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

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  11. 30 for 30 Season 2 Episode 11 - No Mas
    7.1/10(839 votes)

    #11 - No Mas

    S2:E11

    An inside look at the two boxing matches between Sugar Ray Leonard and Roberto Durán in the 1980s, with insight from boxing experts, family members and the two fighters themselves.

    Director:Eric Drath
    Writer:Unknown

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  12. 30 for 30 Season 2 Episode 12 - Big Shot
    7.2/10(794 votes)

    #12 - Big Shot

    S2:E12

    The story of how young businessman John Spano struck a deal to purchase the New York Islanders in 1996, only to be later revealed as a fraud and being near financial insolvency.

    Director:Kevin Connolly
    Writer:Unknown

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  13. 30 for 30 Season 2 Episode 13 - This is What They Want
    7.1/10(632 votes)

    #13 - This is What They Want

    S2:E13

    The story of a 39-year-old Jimmy Connors and his unexpected and extraordinary underdog run at the 1991 US Open, where he played as a wildcard entrant and reached the semifinals of the men's singles draw.

    Directors:David Levien, Brian Koppelman
    Writer:Unknown

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  14. 30 for 30 Season 2 Episode 14 - Bernie and Ernie
    7.0/10(596 votes)

    #14 - Bernie and Ernie

    S2:E14

    A profile of Bernard King and Ernie Grunfeld, their decades-long friendship, and their on-court partnership on the University of Tennessee basketball team, better known as the "Ernie and Bernie Show".

    Director:Jason Hehir
    Writer:Unknown

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  15. 30 for 30 Season 2 Episode 15 - Youngstown Boys
    7.6/10(702 votes)

    #15 - Youngstown Boys

    S2:E15

    The stories of two Ohio State football figures connected with Youngstown, Ohio, running back Maurice Clarett (a native of the city) and coach Jim Tressel (former head coach at Youngstown State University), their football exploits at OSU (including a national championship in 2002), and their scandalous exits from the school. (2 hours in length)

    Directors:Jeff Zimbalist, Michael Zimbalist
    Writers:Jeff Zimbalist, Michael Zimbalist

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  16. 30 for 30 Season 2 Episode 16 - The Price of Gold
    7.4/10(1296 votes)

    #16 - The Price of Gold

    S2:E16

    A profile of a January 6, 1994, incident at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships, where an unknown attacker strikes entrant Nancy Kerrigan — an assailant that is later revealed to be a hit man hired by the ex-husband of Kerrigan's rival, Tonya Harding, as part of a plan to prevent Kerrigan from competing in the 1994 Winter Olympics.

    Director:Nanette Burstein
    Writer:Unknown

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  17. 30 for 30 Season 2 Episode 17 - Requiem for the Big East
    7.5/10(766 votes)

    #17 - Requiem for the Big East

    S2:E17

    A recollection of the original Big East Conference, from its simple beginnings and regional rivalries to its national prominence as one of the most successful college basketball leagues, and how it ended up fighting for its survival in the 2010s during conference realignment.

    Director:Ezra Edelman
    Writer:Unknown

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  18. 30 for 30 Season 2 Episode 18 - Bad Boys
    8.2/10(2082 votes)

    #18 - Bad Boys

    S2:E18

    A look back at the Detroit Pistons of the late 1980s and early 1990s. Narrated by rapper Kid Rock, a native of nearby Romeo, Michigan. (2 hours in length)

    Director:Zak Levitt
    Writer:Unknown

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  19. 30 for 30 Season 2 Episode 19 - Slaying the Badger
    7.6/10(962 votes)

    #19 - Slaying the Badger

    S2:E19

    An examination of the competitive nature that teammates Greg LeMond and Bernard Hinault exhibited in the 1986 Tour de France; a film based on Richard Moore's book of the same name.

    Director:John Dower
    Writer:Unknown

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  20. 30 for 30 Season 2 Episode 20 - Playing for the Mob
    7.1/10(870 votes)

    #20 - Playing for the Mob

    S2:E20

    How Mafia associate Henry Hill orchestrated a point-shaving scheme involving Boston College basketball. Narrated by Ray Liotta, who portrayed Hill in Goodfellas.

    Directors:Cayman Grant, Joe Lavine
    Writer:Unknown

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  21. 30 for 30 Season 2 Episode 21 - The Day the Series Stopped
    6.9/10(872 votes)

    #21 - The Day the Series Stopped

    S2:E21

    A 25-year retrospective of the Loma Prieta earthquake, which struck just before the scheduled start of Game 3 of the 1989 World Series.

    Director:Ryan Fleck
    Writer:Unknown

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  22. 30 for 30 Season 2 Episode 22 - When the Garden Was Eden
    6.9/10(618 votes)

    #22 - When the Garden Was Eden

    S2:E22

    A look back at the New York Knicks' championship teams of the 1970s.

    Director:Michael Rapaport
    Writer:Unknown

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  23. 30 for 30 Season 2 Episode 23 - Brian and The Boz
    7.3/10(1078 votes)

    #23 - Brian and The Boz

    S2:E23

    Former linebacker Brian Bosworth unveils a storage locker to his son Max that contains memorabilia from his college and brief professional career. The elder Bosworth reflects on his life and career, making note of a emerging second persona, The Boz, that had begun to subsume his life.

    Director:Thaddeus D. Matula
    Writer:Unknown

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  24. 30 for 30 Season 2 Episode 24 - Brothers in Exile
    7.5/10(556 votes)

    #24 - Brothers in Exile

    S2:E24

    The story of Liván and Orlando Hernández, half-brothers who fled Cuba separately and became successful major-league pitchers.

    Director:Mario Díaz
    Writer:Unknown

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  25. 30 for 30 Season 2 Episode 25 - Rand University
    7.2/10(870 votes)

    #25 - Rand University

    S2:E25

    An exploration of former NFL receiver Randy Moss and his humble (and humbling) origins in Rand, West Virginia.

    Director:Marquis Daisy
    Writer:Unknown

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

Season 2 Ratings Summary

"Broke" is the best rated episode of "30 for 30" season 2. It scored 6.9/10 based on 1749 votes. Directed by Billy Corben and written by Unknown, it aired on 10/2/2012. This episode is rated 0.7 points higher than the second-best, "9.79*".