Is NYC Still the Basketball Mecca?
King of NY?The Knicks are a mess. Big-time college programs like St. John’s and Syracuse are currently in NCAA tournament droughts; even surrounding tri-state area schools like UConn and Seton Hall aren’t as strong. No longer is it a given that the best high school ballplayers in the country will have New York City ties. Even on the playground, non-NYC cats like The Professor (Oregon), Hot Sauce (Atlanta) and Mr. 720 (Houston) have more fame worldwide than most of New York’s finest. At the game’s highest level, arguably the three best players on the planet hail from Ohio (LeBron), Philadelphia (Kobe) and North Carolina (Chris Paul).
All of this begs the question: Is New York still the basketball capital of the world? And if not, which city/state/region can lay claim to the throne? Tell us in the “Comments” section or send an e-mail to smack@dimemag.com and we’ll run some of the best answers in an upcoming issue of Dime.**
(** = Dime reserves the right to edit submissions for length and clarity.)
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May 7th, 2008 at 10:38 am
the_don_mega says:
dime…
wtf is with the pic of steph with “king of ny” on it???
that aint freakin’ right…
May 7th, 2008 at 10:47 am
Jim says:
I’m not going to make a formal argument here for submission, but I’d be surprised if any place has more players in the L than Houston.
May 7th, 2008 at 10:54 am
SayItAintSo says:
Houston? Really? I’m going to say Seattle, I feel like a lot of players hail from the northwestern corner there.
May 7th, 2008 at 11:00 am
GEE...Now everybodys rappin bout welfare lines... says:
NYC is still the Mecca. You are not just looking at players. You are also looking at the culture that goes along with the sport itself. The music, clothes and shoes, history alone, street cred and so much more. All that still holds NYC as the Mecca hands down.
May 7th, 2008 at 11:27 am
K Dizzle says:
what Gee said.
I rep the west coast but there’s a reason players step up for those games at MSG. If you do it big in New York, you gain instant cred
May 7th, 2008 at 11:33 am
MoxWestCoastRep says:
NYC thinks they are the Mecca of everything.
The Mecca of Rap, Hoops, etc.
When I think of Hoops I think of Boston (Dynasty after Dynasty) Bob Cousey, Red, Larry Legend
and LA (LAKERS and UCLA) Bruins- coach Wooden and the most storied program ever- 11 national championships in 13 years?! 9 straight national championships. Lakers from Jerry West to Wilt to Kareem and Magic to Kobe and Shaq. LA is Hoop.
NYC is just the playground Mecca I suppose.
May 7th, 2008 at 11:51 am
Chuck...A source of knowldge for all says:
The definition of Mecca
Mecca- a center of activity sought as a goal by people sharing a common interest.
Now when people talk about street ball, Houston nor seattle is synonmous with streetball. Usually NY is.
But let me put this in perspectove, when you think of Mecca which is often used in coversation concerning Islam, these people fly from everywhere to worship in this one location!
Basketball has no centralized location in which people go, this is now a WORLDWIDE sport. We have asian leagues, Euro Leagues, China Leagues. There is no Mecca to this sport. The love for the sport has spread to all nations and actually unifies people of different cultures by the beauty, simplicity, and mental complexity of the game, you don’t even have to speak the same language and you can still play with a man from China, or Iraq.
Basketball ain’t start with NY, or with a celtics dynasty.
Sh*t started with james A naismith, and people carried the sport to different generayions to what it is today.
The Mecca for streetball could be NYC, but them tricks and traveling toting amatuers never will and never have made where it counts, because that’s a selfish brand of ball that elimitanes 75 percent of the beauty of the game which is the mental side.
May 7th, 2008 at 11:59 am
GEE...Now everybodys rappin bout welfare lines... says:
Whoa Chuck that is a nice spill and all but 1. Skip has made it where it counts as far as your reference to streetball and mind you other cats were getting theirs on playgrounds all over before they hit the L. Also some prolly would be in the L had it not been for poor decision making somewhere in their life.
Streetball most def. has it’s place. I am not saying it’s the proper way of play but don’t just cast it off. Apparently many love it, if there are audiences all over for it.
For that matter the Harlem Globetrotters (NYC) have their place in the game. They brought comedy and fun to it.
Yes I still say NYC is the “Overall” mecca for basketball.
Sure if you are going strickly by championships then of course Boston, but that is so one dimensional.
A mecca is essentially a utopia of all that pertains to one common interest. For all that NYC has offered and currently offers, yes they are the Mecca.
Trust me I am not from NYC and only been a few times, and for a long time I had a problem with NYC dudes. Have to give credit where credit is due though, they got any aspect of basketball you want to see almost on lock.
May 7th, 2008 at 12:05 pm
yallallreadyknow says:
ny is just the mecca of rats, cockroaches and dirty streets. ny bball dont offer much more
May 7th, 2008 at 12:15 pm
Chuck...A source of knowldge for all says:
@Gee
Why you do me like that? You know how long it took me to come up with that sh*t. LMAO!!!
May 7th, 2008 at 12:23 pm
James says:
NYC is still the best but Forsyth County, NC which includes Winston-Salem and Lewisville have turned up a good share of ballplayers for its size. CP3 hails from Lewisville, with Josh Howard, Rusty Larue, and Reyshawn Terry all coming from Winston. Dont forget bout TD comin from Wake Forest in Winston Salem, and then we got Earl the Pearl from Winston-Salem State along with one of the greatest coaches ever Big Houese Gaines. Even Stephen A. Smith went to RJR in Winston.I didnt even mention all the D1 college players we have produced that are currently playing at North Carolina, App State, and a dozen other places
May 7th, 2008 at 12:25 pm
Chuck...A source of knowldge for all says:
@Gee
I’ve tried to overcome my disdain for streetball, it took years for me to like college ball.
I don’t think I’ll ever like streetball though. That’s some mindless sh*t, let’s go one on one, and pull shirts over heads and slap people in the face while dribbling.
That Globtrotters ball was based on ball movement, so I can appreciate that.
And skip, that dude is a bum yo, and I know how you feel about Houston, that’s soon to be my residence too, but dude can’t play d to save his prostrate!
My issue with college ball, was all the freakin zones, and they shoot to many dag on J’s, that they usally freakin miss because they still have those bad high school shooting mechanics.
Yet I have learned to appreciate college ball, but I doubt I will ever appreciate streetball!
I won’t down rafer without statistical support Gee
He shoots 39 percent from the field and 35 from the arc, he jacks anywhere from 400 to 500 3′s a season. The highest assist season he’s ever had was 6.7, thisi year he averaged 5.3. Your point is your leader, your enginem your brain on the floor, your distributor. This dude is also a streak shooter. Rafer Alston can dribble, but what else?
May 7th, 2008 at 12:26 pm
Sam I Am says:
COME ON NOW!!! MARYLAND for its finest ! Len Bias and JUAN DIXONNNNNNN!!! lol
STEVE FRANCISSSSS!!!!
lol
May 7th, 2008 at 12:29 pm
Celts Fan says:
The basketball mecca is still NYC, followed relatively closely by LA, then a HUGE gap between them and cities like Boston (Naismith invented the game 30 min. outside the city, plus the Celtics dynasty, but there isn’t much for pros from there/streetball/college ball) Seattle (they’re coming up!) Houston, and Baltimore, among many others.
May 7th, 2008 at 12:32 pm
control says:
I will agree with yallallreadyknow on this one. NY ain’t the Mecca of anything other than the financial world, for obvious reasons.
Even proposing this question as a serious topic to discuss proves how delusional the people of NY are.
May 7th, 2008 at 12:33 pm
Star Jones says:
Miami is the Mecca
May 7th, 2008 at 12:36 pm
Chuck...A source of knowldge for all says:
@Star Jones
Miami is the Mecca of big booty girls with no clothes on and drug kingpins. But not basketball!! LMAO!!
May 7th, 2008 at 12:38 pm
GEE...Now everybodys rappin bout welfare lines... says:
LOL dang Chuck.
Ok I wasn’t saying Skip was the best guard in the L. I was just saying he made it in the L and while he is probably a better back up than a starter he is still in the L.
I see your disdain though and well…. I guess you just really hate streetball (particularly And 1 style). LOL dang you really really hate it lol.
The only thing I dislike about anything close to the game is the salaries of the pros and compensation for all college players of every sport but basketball and football in particular.
Anyway I guess we all got our probs.
May 7th, 2008 at 12:42 pm
E says:
NYC is still the mecca. Its not about how many championships you have or whether you got players coming out and stars in the L. It’s the atmosphere, the swagger, the life. You grow up playing ball on the streets. Not even talking about And 1 mixes but just playgrounds on every block and milk crates on the poles. You got Rucker park and the EBC. No matter who you are or where your from. NYC is still the biggest stage to play and light it up.
May 7th, 2008 at 12:48 pm
Sam I Am says:
NY pales in comparison to the south aka Maryland VA DC GA LA NC … ummm there you have it
May 7th, 2008 at 12:59 pm
OMNIpotent1 says:
I don’t know how NY can “pale in comparison” to anywhere down south. I been to several cities down south and had trouble finding a good run. You guys hardly even have courts. We had to drive mad far to even find a court. In NYC there is a court on almost every other corner, be serious.
Down south is the mecca of football and chitlings, that’s it.
Maryland got some ballers though.
May 7th, 2008 at 1:03 pm
il Mago says:
Lithuania…No country in the world loves basketball like they do.
In terms of talent, Spain is turning into an assembly plant with France, Argentina, Serbia, and even Russia not far behind.
Historically and Culturally, NY is The Mecca
NBA-wise, Either Boston or LA are champs
Talent-wise, Illinois…I mean, even Obama has game!
May 7th, 2008 at 1:30 pm
Jim says:
I need to step back from my earlier comment. While Houston (not from there) puts out tons of players and that’s where lots of non-Texas based players make their homes, NYC is the Mecca.
Think of all the basketball that happens there: all the Rucker events in the summer, the pre-season NIT, the Big East tourney, the Draft, every big shoe event…it’s the city you think of when you think of ball. And New Yorkers love ball, which isn’t the case everywhere, especially in the Mid-Atlantic for some reason.
And how can you compare an entire region of the country to one city. Of course there is more basketball in the South than in NYC, it’s like 35% of the population.
May 7th, 2008 at 1:37 pm
Wildes says:
Great conversation topic. I saw this a while back – a google map plotting every NBA player’s birthplace.
http://ballhype.com/story/where_birth_happens/
Not an entirely accurate judge of what makes one place the mecca but an interesting datapoint.
LeBron is Ohio and CP3 is NC right down to the southern charm. I don’t know if you can put the Philly tag as firmly on Kobe as you can with the other guys.
The NYC point guard feels like they have to carry the torch for the city. There’s a reason you took a pic of Steph rather than Elton Brand. I guess we’ll just wait til Lance is running the league.
Nevertheless, I still cast my vote for NYC.
May 7th, 2008 at 1:45 pm
Korady says:
My take is this. NYC has some pretty big basketball landmarks in Madison Square Garden and Rucker Park. NYC is easily the place most people think of when talking about where playground basketball became “legitimized” (for lack of a better word). When And 1 wanted their street cred, where’d they go? Rucker. Where are all the legendary stories of playground basketball? Rucker. Is it just me or did Jordan step up at MSG more then anywhere else (besides Craig Ehlo’s face)? NYC has staked it’s claim with history. But right now, no. The Knicks suck, Rucker isn’t nearly as majestic as it once was and the globilization is happening. When globilization happens, that means things become more and more decentralized. Thus, the Mecca cannot hold as strongly as it once did as now more and more places are sharing in the spotlight, gaining credibility and contributing more to basketball in general. It would be difficult for anywhere to be the basketball mecca any time soon
May 7th, 2008 at 1:48 pm
YOUNGFED says:
Detroit is the Mecca of bball. Naw but seriously it ain’t where you from its where you at. With that said a Mecca is wherever dawg ass ballers come from flat out.
May 7th, 2008 at 1:49 pm
fiyaman says:
NYC is the Mecca hands down and if u dont like streetball (not talking bout AND1) then ur not a real baller u just like to sit and watch TV so u can have something to talk about. I bet there is probably not 1 person in the L thats hasn’t played streetball whether it be in Brazil, Russia, China, or Brooklyn streetball is where it all starts. Even guys in the L now when they get a brk go back to streetball . If u never played stball then its hard for me to even put a credit to what u say.. if u dont like stball ur probably someone that knows nothing about bball except from what commentators say, u just sit home and watch so u can complain about how much $$ they make and how much u wish that was u
May 7th, 2008 at 1:52 pm
fiyaman says:
if u never played stball then u wont have any heart in da league and u can tell what players never played on the streets or used to get punked..
MJ is from NYC
NYC is the originator
May 7th, 2008 at 1:56 pm
fiyaman says:
i agree with the_don_mega… putting Steph up there just opens the argument for everyone to say no b/c they are all think about players in the L that play for the Knicks which really has nothing to do with this.. shouda put someone like MJ, Odom, RonRon, even Skip..
we disowned Steph a few yrs ago when he said he was best PG in L. We been trying to get him to the Grizzlies to finish his career for how long now
May 7th, 2008 at 2:00 pm
keegan says:
mj was BORN in nyc…he moved to nc before he was old enough to even be thinkin about basketball so that doesnt really count…but anyways, i dont think theres really an all-around mecca of basketball anymore…different areas have different strengths, with nyc bein the streetball mecca, boston or la bein the pro mecca, and probably nc (unc, wake, duke) or cali (ucla, usc, and stanford) bein the college mecca…but like i said its hard to tell…even tho id probably still give it to nyc for all-around if i had to choose
May 7th, 2008 at 2:21 pm
fiyaman says:
@keegan
gd pt u got me on that1
May 7th, 2008 at 2:30 pm
doc says:
Flya MJ was born in NY but he from NC lets get it right.James Earl the Pearl from the Illadelph dont steal our players.I could see if Mike balled in NY growing up like Kobe did in Philly but he got his game in NC.But I would go with Philly as the Mecca.When NewYork was in its heyday with the Rucker and all that Philly was on the scene and we still are.We got players from And 1 to the league to anywhere talent at.LA people should think Philly the Mecca how they be all on Kobe nuts.The D surviving off of Philly flavor too FED.Shit if the Sixers could have a real team from Philly 83 wouldnt be all we gonna get.What happened to the where you from is where you go rule.Aint that how we got Wilt.See i can throw out dudes like Wilt.This great player shit go back years in my hometown.
May 7th, 2008 at 2:43 pm
doc says:
Wildes I seen Kobe play Sonny Hill from 9th to 12th grade I think you could say he got his killer game from Philly.Even his pop and uncle from here and was the shit.And not for the Sixers when he was in school.
May 7th, 2008 at 3:01 pm
John says:
No props for Philly???????
May 7th, 2008 at 3:23 pm
dukesman2000 says:
NY is the Mecca alright…
The Mecca for washed up and half dead players.
May 7th, 2008 at 3:31 pm
Chuck...A source of knowldge for all says:
@fiyaman
Naw young’n I am 25 and I still hope organized and streetball, I done crossed people up and I done played organized ball. I’ve played with players who have played against Chris Paul and have played college ball. Jsut from me playing both types of basketball, I can say by far, that organized ball is the harder of the two, you can’t just sit in the lane for thirty seconds on defense or offense. All that carrying is a no go, and you actually have to work to get open to get the ball in organized sports. I mean there is a lot of strategy involved with breaking down defensive and offensive schemes. That one on one sh*t ain’t basketball. It’s just pickup freelance ball, and no one plays defense either. Put a streetball team up against the hornets or the spurs, man they would wipe they A*s wit a streetball team!
May 7th, 2008 at 3:41 pm
Spliff 2 My Lou says:
That’s just New York mentality. They think they’re the Mecca of everything; hoops, hip-hop, fashion, food, art etc… I wouldn’t be surprised if New Yorkers believe that life itself began in NY and that the first simple celled organisms crawled out of the ocean and began to evolve right there. True many cultures started in NY but other regions/cities have perfected them.
May 7th, 2008 at 3:43 pm
Spliff 2 My Lou says:
Oh wait… Wasn’t MJ himself born in Brooklyn? Maybe life as we know it did start in NY. At the very least basketball as I know it did.
May 7th, 2008 at 4:00 pm
fiyaman says:
@chuck
I agree with everything u said. I wouldnt try to compare streetball to league ball thats completely different. What I was saying is that you sound like u got some real hatred toward streetball and u categorize stball with the AND1 tour. WHat am saying is bball just like any other sport starts with pickup games (like it or not) so for u to go out and just b hatin on stball is wrong.(side not there are tons of stballers out there that can be nba ballers they just may not have da grades,$$, sense,etc to make da league. and a lot of stballers have rap sheets)
for the record i dont like AND1 ball b/c to me its not real but at the same time, I’ve been to plenty of ball parks but I have NEVER been to a park where they played like them n1 cats. So to put stball and AND1 2gether is wrong. AND1 is like its own league just like NBA, NCAA, AAU, Globetrotters, the rules r diff. some things u can do i 1 league u cant do in others but dont hate on stball bc of and1. u might as well say u dont like basketbal b/c of and1 .. (AND1 is not even stball they play in da gym, alot and they dnt go hard like stball .)
stball teaches u how to play hard, with heart and learn how to win. (altough there might be some fighting but there’s that in the L too) there’s lots of cats in the L that r in there cause they went to a certain school (*cough* DUke/NC) but they dont know how to win..
May 7th, 2008 at 4:02 pm
fiyaman says:
Spliff 2 My Lou
life did start in Brooklyn
God created Adam EVE and put them in the BigApple.. that apple Adam bit wasnt a real apple it was a metaphor for NYC
May 7th, 2008 at 4:02 pm
karizmatic says:
well since everyone is basically using this to shot out their area ballplayers…let me shot out VA. Allen Iverson, Joe Smith, Grant Hill, Rick Mahorn, and VA Union cats Charles Oakley and Ben Wallace.
May 7th, 2008 at 4:04 pm
OMNIpotent1 says:
@ Spliff 2 My Lou
Sounds like you got a lot of hate in your blood for NY. You probably live in a double-wide in west bum f**k. We are better than you!
May 7th, 2008 at 4:06 pm
Chuck...A source of knowldge for all says:
Basketbal didn’t start with MJ People! Have you people heard of the Big O, Pete maravich, Wilt Chamberlain, all these people came before Jordan and they were ALL cold players. Bill Russell has more rings than Jordan. Jordan was just the first commercialized basketball star. I mean Jordan was one of the best shooting Gaurds ever, if not the best. But b-ball ain’t start with MJ or raggedy a*s new York. It started In Springfeild Massachusetts in 1891, by a gangly white dude in a dusty gym where the rule of dribbling was yet to be instituted. That crap they doing in New York isn’t even basketball. They can’t do none of that sh*t in a game. SO it’s not basketball. Put a real referee in there and they would average about 80 turnovers a game, and basketball players come from all over now. Germany, China, Atlanta, Cleveland. Kobe who is the best player in the game today really isn’t from anywhere because he traveled with his dad.
May 7th, 2008 at 4:30 pm
MSkittle says:
Chi-Town
May 7th, 2008 at 4:36 pm
GEE...Now everybodys rappin bout welfare lines... says:
LOL @ really isn’t from anywhere. Birthplace unknown Chuck lol.
Personally I like And 1 and it’s very entertaining to me. Sure it’s not fundamental and they carry and this, that and the other. Still again as all other things involving “a basketball” (Globetrotters, And 1, project playground basketball or pure streetball) it has it’s place.
Most everyone knows And 1 would get wiped out by NBA players…although I would still love to see it… them dudes is trying to make a living to feed their family and get what recognition they can.
Many don’t like it because kids get caught up in wanting to do tricks instead of learning what is real. With some it will hinder and with some it will help. It just is what it is.
All phases and things involving basketball help the sport itself and NBA whether they admit it or not and most of any type of phase of basketball can be found (originated or not) in NYC…..The Mecca for basketball culture.
May 7th, 2008 at 4:53 pm
Chuck...A source of knowldge for all says:
@Gee
LOLOL!!!
May 7th, 2008 at 5:21 pm
'Ol School Baller says:
The NYC is not the mecca of basketball. NYC kids have the most individual talent of anybody on the planet. If the game was one-on-one instead of five-on-five NYC would be the mecca, but their “me first” attitude and “I gon’ get mine” persona doesn’t translate at the team level. Then add to fact that there are tons of psychophants kissing up to these kids in order to use them for their talent, it only encourages the kids to feel entitled and to “get mine” – ingredients that don’t translate to college or NBA success. Not that I’m hatin’ because at the end of the day, who doesn’t like to have their butts kissed?
The NYC has the most overhyped players. In general, everything in New York is overhyped. A car accident in Times Square is the biggest accident in the history of the world, but that same accident someplace else wouldn’t get such coverage. Starting with Felipe Lopez, in the past 15 years when was the last time a player from the NYC lived up to the billing? Felipe was the best player in the country until he went to college and started playing against kids his own age.
Because NYC kids haven’t been able to live up to the hype in recent years, I tend to discount anything written about NYC ball players until I see them at the college or NBA level. But to the point, the mecca of basketball is Baltimore, MD which puts out more major ball players per capita than any other place in the world. The list includes: David Wingate, Reggie Lewis, Reggie Williams, Mugsey Bogues, Duane Ferrell, Juan Dixon, Melo, Sam Cassell, Skip Wise, Dallas Comegys, Rudy Gay, Dontae Payne, etc.
In the future, the mecca may be the state of Texas. Take a look at the rankings of top grade school and high players in the country. The lion’s share are from Texas.
May 7th, 2008 at 5:50 pm
Spliff 2 My Lou says:
@Impotent1
Ha ha! Good one. But for the record I don’t hate nobody. I’m from East L.A. bitch so you’re just slightly better than me.
May 7th, 2008 at 5:58 pm
Spliff 2 My Lou says:
Thank for the history lesson Chuck but i’m sure you know there were cold ballers even before the ones you mentioned. If we’re going by a timeline then Springfield, MA is Basketball Mecca. I suggest you read Rules for Basketball by Dr. James Naismith published in 1892. That’s where it all started.
May 7th, 2008 at 6:15 pm
OMNIpotent1 says:
@ Spliff
Impotent would be your pops…Too bad he wasted his one good load on you…bitch.
P.S. Your Mother!
May 7th, 2008 at 6:25 pm
Spliff 2 My Lou says:
You lose all credibility when you start to bring family into this. If Impotent wasn’t you then you shouldn’t have responded.
May 7th, 2008 at 6:36 pm
Yoooooooo says:
NY is definitely STILL the Mecca of basketball. You can’t discredit the years of trends NY has set for EVERY state throughout the course of time (however I will say MD/DC have there own style to EVERYTHING from gogo music to Hobo clothing line to chicken wings and mambo sauce).
Boston will NEVER be the Mecca of basketball, all they ever gave the game was a winning professional team comprised of a whole bunch of players from everywhere BUT boston. No college ball championships far as I know. Their high school basketball is ass too and I don’t know too much about their streetball other than nobody ever mentions boston as the place to go for great hoops.
NY is the Mecca because of what it has birthed. The tough damn near jailhouse style of play. They have a standard for point guards that’s still higher than anywhere else. Even when a PG is great from another state they still say to this day “he plays like one of them NY pg’s…” As an AAU coach I hear it all the time.
Just because your state produced great ball players doesn’t make it more important to the game than NY get real. Nobody refers to NC, LA, Houston or ANY damn state for a style of play, warddrobe or any of that. Be honest with yourself. And this comes from a Jersey dude who DESPISES New York culture and everything about New Yorkers (Im from Newark man, and people say NJ and NY are the same and all that but let it be known we do not get down with one another, period)
And Im going to be up in Boston this weekend coaching my AAU team at a pretty big tournament, but Im going to be driving past courts to see if anything stands out. But I doubt it!
May 7th, 2008 at 7:01 pm
Wildes says:
When you look at other sports – soccer for example – Brazil is the Mecca. That’s because a good soccer player in LA or Mexico City or Paris becomes a weak player as soon as they step on any field in Brazil. And vice versa. A “weak” player from Brazil can go all state when they move to the US.
I’m not talking about the exceptional superstars. There’s always exceptions. I feel, and I could be totally wrong, that a similar logic can be applied to NYC players.
Your all state player was nice…until he came to NYC. And the average dude playing at the cage, can go onto most any other court and wax folks.
May 7th, 2008 at 7:23 pm
BxBaller says:
NYC is still the Mecca always has been, always will be.
May 7th, 2008 at 7:29 pm
C-Rob says:
Don’t sleep on the Lone Star State
Shaquille O’Neal
Chris Bosh
Rashard Lewis
Stephen Jackson
Deron Williams
TJ Ford
LaMarcus Aldridge
Grant Hill
Daniel Gibson
Emeka Okafor
Quinton Ross
CJ Miles
May 7th, 2008 at 8:45 pm
Yoooooooo says:
C-Rob: Negro please. If you ask Shaq where he’s from 100 times out of 100 he will tell you Newark, NJ. Sorry bruh.
May 7th, 2008 at 9:48 pm
C-Rob says:
Yoooooooo
don’t ignore the rest of the list bruh.
May 8th, 2008 at 11:32 am
doc says:
Philly known for its heart.I aint even gonna name all our players because I’d be here all day.But we the realist.
May 9th, 2008 at 11:54 pm
pistolpete227 says:
Hip-Hop was born in the Bronx, NY, but basketball was born in Springfield, MA. That should be the Mecca, but it gets no love. The Hall of Fame needs support and current NBA players do not respect the history and legacy of Naismith enough to keep it solvent. Shame on them.
March 28th, 2009 at 7:49 pm
mike says:
NYC deffinately…if u can make it there u can make it anywhere. but LA and chicago arent very far behind (boston also) because of somewhat of a highschool bball “drought” in ny. still its the place to be from if u want instant respect from people