Streetball
Streetball is an
urban form of
basketball, played in
playgrounds and imitated in across the world. It has been prominently featured as part of the
AND1 company's heralded "
Mixtape Tour" across America which has vastly popularized the game with extensive media coverage.
While the rules of Streetball are essentially/theoretically the same as normal basketball, Streetball places a higher emphasis on one-on-one matchups between the offense and defender. Often the attacker will perform numerous flashy moves while attempting to drive to the basket, including
crossovers,
jab steps, and other fake-out tricks. Streetball often features spectacular
dunks and
alley oops, impressive
ball handling, and
trash talking.
Certain rule violations in traditional basketball, such as
carrying, do not apply in Streetball. Style is often the determining factor in what is and is not legal in a Streetball game - if it looks good, it's not against the rules. In this sense, Streetball is as much performance art as it is an athletic contest.
However rules very widely from court to court. Almost invariably a "Call your own foul" rule is in effect, and a player who believes he has been fouled, simply needs to call out "Foul!", and play will be stopped, with the ball awarded to the fouled player's team. The etiquette of what rightly constitutes a foul, as well as the permissable amount of protestation against such a call, are the products of individual social groups, as well as of the level of seriousness of a particular game. An outsider at a playground should closely observe the status quo in these matters. Some areas where different interpertations of rules are likely to occur are: 1)travelling- whether a step is permissable prior to dribbling, and how many more than the nominally permitted one and a half steps should be allowed at the end of the dribble. 2) hand(and leg)-checking on defense- how much can one touch the person one defends and how much physical presure may one apply in so doing.
A common feature to Streetball is the 'pick up game'. To participate in most Streetball games across the world one simply go to an outdoor court where people are playing, indicate a wish to participate, and once all the players
who were at the court before you have played you will get to pick your team out of the players available and play a game. Many games play up to 7,10 or 11 points with all baskets counting as one point (sometimes shots beyond thee 3 point arc count as 2 points). Ballers often play 'win by 2' which, as in tennis, means that the team has to win by a margin of at least 2 clear points. Sometimes a local "dead end" limit applies; for instance a game may be played to 7, win by 2, with a 9 point dead end, which would mean scores of 7-5, 8-6, 9-7, or 9-8, would all be final; while with scores of 7-6 or 8-7, play would continue.
The most common streetball game is 3 on 3 played half court though often 5 on 5 full court can be found.
| Slang | Definition | | in your face | To shoot with a defender close up |
| crossed | For the defender defeated by a cross over |
| jam, slam | Dunk |
| Alley | A shot made in the air from a pass |
| no look | A pass made without looking in the direction of the person being passed to |
| stuff, swat, rejection | When an opposing player's shot is blocked |
| screen | To block a player with your body in order to free up a teammate |
| rainmaker | A made shot, usually from long range |
| ankle breaker | A crossover so vicious that the defensive player slips or falls down |
| and one | The basket is good and there was an uncalled foul |
|
*
Earl "The Goat" Manigault*
Richard "Pee Wee" Kirkland*
Demetrius "Hook" Mitchell*
Connie "The Hawk" Hawkins*
Earl "The Pearl" Monroe * Lloyd "Swee' Pea" Daniels
* Larry "Bone Collector" Williams
* Adrian "Whole Lotta Game" Walton
* Erving "I'll Be Right Back" Oppong
*
Roberto "Exile" Yong* Myree "Reemix" Bowden
* Joel "King Handles" Haywood
* Ed "Booger" Smith
*
Pat "Da Roc" Robinson*
Bobbito Garcia* Andre "Silk" Poole
* Mohammed "Goosebumps" Wenn
* Sante "757" Gayle
*
God Shammgod* Jamal Williams
* Joe "The Destroyer" Hammond
* Jack "Black Jack" Ryan
* Jermaine "JB" Brown
* Kevin "Bizzness" Butler
* Marvin "High Riser" Collins
* Chris "Skywalker" Lowery
*
Deshun "Father Time" Jackson* John "John-John" Nelson
* Marcus "Suspence" Spencer
* Chris "Tru Baller" Young
* Randy "White Chocolate" Gill
*
Cardell "Ballaholic" Butler* Martin "The Problem Child" Bonaparte
* Kevin "Hometown Kid" Wylie
* Emmanuel "Hard Work" Bibb
* Brandon "The Assassin" Durham
* Malloy "Da Future" Nesmith
* Tavoris "Night Train" Bell
*
D.J. "The Thing Assassin" Mbenga Streetball has been featured in:
*
Street Hoops (
Activision -
2002)
*
NBA Street series (
EA Sports Big - NBA Street,
2002; NBA Street Vol. 2,
2003; NBA Street V3,
2005)
*
NBA Ballers (
Midway -
2004)
*
AND 1 Streetball (
Ubisoft - June 2006)
