BOUNCE SPECIAL 2010

4
EDITOR’S LETTER
From North Carolina. Akron. Chicago. Italy via Philly. No matter where
basketball’s top icons call home, the game will always be synonymous
with New York City. Basketball is rooted in the Big Apple. So many of the
seeds that feed the game are cultivated here, it’s only ⇒ tting that NYC’s
marquee basketball venue is called “The Garden.”
So when the eyes of basketball nation turn to NYC this summer for the
World Basketball Festival, they will experience the soul of the game on
display on its most hallowed grounds.
“In New York, basketball is part of the infrastructure of the city,” says
Kenny Smith, former NBA champion and current TNT announcer, born
in NYC. “Basketball in⇑ uences not only on the sporting end, but the
political end, the fashion end. I mean, baggy shorts came from basket-
ball in New York City. From music to sports, in NYC it’s different from
everywhere else.
“There’s a basket on every corner here,” Smith goes on. “And basketball is
a different game from everything else because it’s the only game where
you get called to come play. Nobody is like, ‘Hey, let’s go run track,’ or
‘Hey, let’s go play baseball.’ But with basketball, people call you. ‘Hey, let’s
go 2-on-2, let’s go 1-on-1.’”
The world witnessed Jordan’s double-nickel here. Kobe’s 61. LeBron’s 52-9-
11. The city witnessed the playground exploits of Dr. J, Pee Wee and Vince
here, then spread the tall tales worldwide.
2010 saw New York City back in the basketball spotlight. Lamar Odom
(Queens) and Ron Artest (Queens) played major roles on the L.A. Lakers’
championship squad, while Carmelo Anthony (Brooklyn) put together an
MVP-caliber season, and Michael Jordan (Brooklyn) made history when
he purchased controlling interest of the Charlotte Bobcats franchise -- the
⇒ rst former NBA player to become a majority owner in the League. The
offseason was also NYC-centric, as the Knicks and Nets were two of the
big-time players in the biggest free-agency summer on record.
And now, the World Basketball Festival. From August 12-15, Nike and USA
Basketball will play party host to a four-day celebration of the game in
the game’s signature city. National teams from the U.S., China, Puerto
Rico, Brazil and France will be in action at Rucker Park and MSG. Play-
ground legends and elite youth talent will showcase their skills from
The Bronx to the bright lights of Times Square. Sneakers, fashion, music,
art ... New York will be all about basketball and its culture for one long
weekend; which is why this issue of Bounce is dedicated to the World
Basketball Festival.
“I think that New York has an electricity,” says Mike Krzyzewski, coach of
the gold medal-winning United States men’s team and the NCAA national
champion Duke Blue Devils. “There’s an excitement about this city, and that
excitement for all the sports is primarily manifested in basketball. And the
Garden has a lot to do with that. But just the history of this city with bas-
ketball. It embraces basketball, it gets turned on with basketball. And it turns
on the basketball people who come here, and that’s why our Duke team, we
like to come up here. We play one of our home games in New York every
year because, one, if you can play in the Garden or the Meadowlands you can
play anywhere. But also I just want them to feel the excitement of whatever
this city has. It has something when you’re walking around it.”
Let’s hear it for New York.
-Bounce