Basketball + Hip Hop = Streetball?

I was browsing through ESPN.com as usual, and what do I find? Jack Ramsay opines that "hip-hop lessens the image of the NBA. It lends to associating the NBA with street ball -- which really isn't basketball."
I nearly fell out of my seat when I read the article. Is this guy serious?

Coincidentally (or maybe not) he fits the stereotypical old white guy image, which is the type of person who usually makes these types of statements. Fortunately, the article includes about 3 times as much opinion from Greg Anthony, who used to play for the Knicks back in the day. Whew! Greg just saved me alot of time spent writing angry emails to ESPN.

To say that Street ball is not Basketball is like saying the Harlem GlobeTrotters weren't a true basketball team either, since their primary goal was entertainment. They just happened to beat the then NBA Champion Minneapolis Lakers on a regular basis, and had several winning streaks of 100 games or more. Likewise, streetballers (such as those on the AND1 mixtape tour) are true basketball players playing real basketball. As a matter of fact, they go on tour playing (and beating) other real teams around the country.

And let's not get it twisted: streetball can be some of the most exciting basketball to watch. That's why tricksters like the white Jason Williams (before coach Hubie Brown, who is another old white guy, got to him), and Jason Kidd are so popular. Kidd throws some of the most amazing, I-didn't-know-they-did-that-in-the-NBA type passes, and he's the best point guard in the NBA. Exciting, "streetball"-like play is why AI is 100 times more popular than Duncan, although Duncan is the more fundamental player.

By the way, my good friend Hashim commented on another article which is part of ESPN's series on Hip Hop and Basketball.

Comments

[Jason]

I would also note that one of the keys to the success of the Miami Heat last season had, in no small part, to do with Rafer Alston (aka Skip to my Lou) being on the squad. There were several times when his street ball skills and sensibilities (like hitting a three in somebody's grill, lulling an offensive player for the steal, taking other players out of the game mentally) won them close games.

And, really, The Mavs and The Kings the past few years haven't been much more than glorified street balling teams (score score score, give the crowd what they came to see, fuck defense) and the all-star game has every NBA player attempting their best AND1 mixtape impressions.

Jack, who used to be fly back in the day, has to remember that a big part of fundamentals is the FUN and basketball needs both to be viable and interesting. Otherwise, people would be all over the WNBA like it was mud wrestling.

[ian]

Wait Hashim, I would agree with the statement that "the Harlem GlobeTrotters weren't a true basketball team either, since their primary goal was entertainment." That style of basketball, as fun as it was to watch when I was a kid, was basically the equivalent of pro wrestling: all rigged and plotted out beforehand, no?

[BlkScholar]

First off, Ian, me and Hashim are 2 different people. Secondly, in regards to the Globetrotters thing, there was a major entertainment aspect in their games, but the majority of their games early on were actual basketball games. The trickery really started once the game was definitely a blowout. In order to really show people that they weren't just a bunch of clowns, they actually played some exhibition games against, and beat(!) the Minneapolis Lakers during some of the years that they won championships. But yes, during the '60s through the '90s, they started to do more entertainment than actual basketball. As they stand today, they still play alot of "pro wrestling-style" games, but they tour and play against other real teams made up of college basketball stars, and they still win on a regular basis.

[rapsux]

Fuck hip hop. Thg shittiest music ever created is c-rap.I hope you all eat shit and die.

[ian]

Sorry bro for misaddressing my reply, I didn't read the sig. that closely. Thx for also giving me the heads up on the Globetrotters history. I guess I kind of remember them from their latter preiod when I was a kid and I'm not that young either.

[Hashim]

that Jason Williams link leads to a site that shot me three pop-ups as soon as I went there. Thanks playboy.

[BlkScholar]

Sorry about the bad Jason William's link. I didn't notice because I have pop up blockers on my computer. In any case it's been fixed now. (Note: I highly recommend the blocker, although it ain't perfect.)

[BicycleThief]

Streetball is a variant of basketball. I'm not knockin it by saying it's less than or greater--just different. Streetball is about individuals and self-expression and entertainment, while the NBA or college brand of basketball is team-oriented (or supposed to be) and about winning (much more anyways). It's an entirely different culture and mindset. I'm definitely not saying streetballers don't have skills and aren't physically gifted. But the game they play differs radically from the "organized" game at the collegiate and pro level.

[Dunkadelic Education]

The "Basketball and Hip-Hop" culture fusion of the past 22 years can be defined as The "Dunkadelic Era" In America, 1984 Present. It's the first 'Sport and Music' defined era in American history. The "Dunkadelic" terminolgy best defines the merging of both cultures.
Dunkadelic (adjective)-the fusion of "Basketball and Hip-Hop" inspired by the cultural aesthetics of urban style, fashion, and attitude.

[Cynthia]

CASTING CALL FOR BASKETBALL PLAYERS (NEW YORK)

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Seeking Basketball Players In The New York CIty Area Above The Age of 18 Years. Final selections will make it onto the show.

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TIME:
at 10 am

WHERE:
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4400 Glenwood Rd.
Brooklyn, NY 11203

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[kelsey]

i need to know how basketball was influenced by the hip hop culture.... i need to know it for paper i am doing for school....

[Anonymous]

I don't want to be an asshole but be serious about And1, please. It's not "real" basketball. Those guys travel (even more than NBA players), carry the ball nearly every time they dribble and play no defense (they play minimal but some defense in the NBA). The carries are the part that get me. It's not that hard to put a sick cross-over move on a guy when you pick the dribble up for two seconds and then put it back down.

[cheap fioricet]

Streetball is real basketball as well as and1, skip to my lou is and1 player and where those he plays now?