Rebounding from his father’s untimely death, 12-year-old Josh Framm (KEVIN ZEGERS) moves with his family to the sleepy town of Fernfield, Washington. The new kid on the block, Josh has no friends and is too shy to try out for the school basketball team. However, when practicing on an abandoned court, he befriends a runaway golden retriever named Buddy. Making like a canine Michael Jordan, Buddy astounds Josh with his ability to score baskets.

Josh and Buddy eventually make the school team, and the dog’s extraordinary on-court antics spark a media frenzy. However, when Buddy’s nasty former owner, Norm Snively (MICHAEL JETER), comes along with a scheme to cash in on the pup’s celebrity, Josh and Buddy must keep one step ahead of the brute while rallying the town’s school team to the state basketball finals.