Too many documentaries try to shoehorn solemnity and deeper significance into sports stories. The “30 for 30” (7 p.m., ESPN) documentary “Once Brothers” is a remarkable exception.

The film offers the story of Vlade Divac, a star for the Yugoslavian national basketball team in the late 1980s, a time when European players were finally coming into their own. A Serb, Divac played on a team with athletes from all of Yugoslavia’s regions, including three from Croatia, most notably Drazen Petrovic.

In addition to leading Yugoslavia to championships and glory on the world stage, Divac and Petrovic were drafted by NBA teams, the Lakers and Trail Blazers, respectively. As fellow Yugoslavs in a strange new world, the men would speak on the phone every day and share triumphs, setbacks and the joys and anxieties of being immigrants turned sports stars.

All of that changed in 1991, when, in the aftermath of Communism’s collapse throughout Eastern Europe, Croatia broke away from Yugoslavia and the nation descended into bloody civil war with atrocities on every side. Suddenly, Divac discovered that neither Petrovic nor any of his other Croatian former teammates would return his calls, and he was now considered an “enemy” by men he once thought of as brothers.

Divac’s story puts a human face on a historical tragedy, an emotional nightmare made all the worse by Petrovic’s untimely death in a car crash in 1993. As a friend, he knew he had to attend Petrovic’s funeral. But as a Serb, he knew he wouldn’t be welcome or even allowed into Croatia.

Although the film does end with some “closure,” as Divac visits his old friend’s mother and places flowers and photos on his grave, “Brothers” is a painful reminder of the human price of factional hate. It also shows how quickly the murderous virus can spread, even in a modern country in a time not that long ago.

• The theme of civil war continues on a three-hour presentation of “God in America” (7 p.m., PBS, check local listings) that examines how a pious and nearly universally Christian society could descend into war when each faction believed that they had God on their side.

• “Ray Charles America” (7 p.m., Biography) profiles the influential and popular singer on the occasion of what would be his 80th birthday. David Duchovny narrates.

• A looming family-portrait sitting makes Jimmy take stock on “Raising Hope” (8 p.m., Fox). Fox announced last week that it had picked up this sitcom for an entire season.

Tonight’s other highlights

• Wedding crashers leave with jewelry on “No Ordinary Family” (7 p.m., ABC).

• Love overflows on “Glee” (7 p.m., Fox).

• If required, Minnesota hosts New York in Game 5 of the American League Divisional Series (7:30 p.m., TBS).

• A suspect acts from behind bars on “NCIS: Los Angeles” (8 p.m., CBS).

• Carlos leads a 1975 terror raid on an OPEC conference on “Carlos” (8 p.m., Sundance, part two of three).

• Alicia confronts Glenn on “The Good Wife” (9 p.m., CBS).

• Rat catching on “Sons of Anarchy” (9 p.m., FX).

Cult choice

Christopher Walken stars in the 1983 adaptation of the Stephen King novel “The Dead Zone” (9 p.m., Cinemax).