Dr. J, Adams, Jackson, Backing New Zealand's 'The Boroughs' Streetball Project
An initiative to bring basketball to the streets of New Zealand has been revealed, via the Twitter of popular Kiwi hoops star, Steven Adams. The project is one in which Adams has teamed up with New Zealand telecommunication giant, Spark, and the NBA, to create five street basketball courts in Auckland, each representative of a "sister' court in the USA. Alongside this, the courts will act as free Wi-Fi spots.
The courts will be scattered around New Zealand's biggest city, Auckland, with one in each of the north, south, east, west and central parts of the city.
In the north, Los Angeles' Venice Beach will act as the sister court. The North Shore has traditionally been a powerhouse of New Zealand basketball. Notably they have produced two of the country's three NBA players, Sean Marks and Kirk Penney, who attended Rangitoto College and Westlake Boys' High School respectively.
Out west it is Adams' current local, Downtown Oklahoma City, which provides inspiration. The link to Oklahoma City was natural, given Adams' current popularity in the country.
Central Auckland represents Manhattan's the Cage. The Cage is known for its physicality of play, which may yet be seen by its counterpart, as New Zealand basketball is notoriously physical.
Brooklyn's the Hole, known for its flashy guard play and iconic superstar Fly Williams, is represented by the East, while the most famous of them all, Rucker Park, can be found in South Auckland.
Adams has recently featured in advertisements with Oklahoma City Thunder guard Reggie Jackson, and was joined by a legendary figure in Julius Erving, in the project's main advertisement.
To have a figure such as Erving promoting the game in New Zealand is huge. While basketball has come on leaps and bounds in the country over the past decade, it still has a way to go if it is to attract more of New Zealand's top athletes.
It is not an easy task, the lure of an All Black jersey is so great and has become so ingrained in New Zealand national identity. But it is a start and it is only now that we are starting to see the effects of the increase in popularity, with the likes of Steven Adams, Tai Wynyard, Tai Webster and Isaac Fotu coming through.
By getting a legend of the game to acknowledge the sport in the country, Kiwi's will begin to feel more of a connection to the game abroad, where it really is big business.
As far as street basketball goes, it would be hard to find a more identifiable figure than the Doc himself. There are others of course, who might claim to have developed greater legacies on the streets. Think of names such as Earl Manigault, Joe Hammond, Fly Williams or Pee-Wee Kirkland.
But these players remain unknown to but the most die-hard basketball fans in a rugby-mad nation. Even Erving would go unrecognised by many, although he will still be well-recognised within the basketball community. His combination of success in the pros and on the blacktop makes him the ideal person to join Adams as the face of the promotion.
By providing spaces such as this, youngsters will be given the opportunity to identify with the game of basketball, as opposed to rugby or cricket as it has traditionally been the case for boys, or netball for girls. As Kenny McFadden said, these courts will provide easily accessible places for basketball players who want to practice regularly, and who may not be in academies or have access to their own hoop.
More people playing: That has to be a good thing for basketball.
The next step will be to expand the project. While Auckland was the natural place to start, there are plenty of other cities in New Zealand where basketball is growing and need places such as these for people to play.
Ultimately it is yet another step towards New Zealand basketball making its name worldwide.
