NBA Lockout: Kevin Durant and the Return of NBA Players to Streetball Roots

As the NBA lockout continues strong with no signs of losing any steam, NBA players have instead found a new outlet for their basketball urges and returned to the playground courts and gyms they played in before their pro careers.

With their return to playground courts also comes a reemergence of the playground style and a temporary rebirth of sorts of the "streetball" culture.  

While playground basketball and casual outdoor play have always been around, the more flashy "streetball" style of play experienced the height of its popularity in the early 2000s, led by the AND1 Mixtape tour and its squad of entertaining players. 

Unlike the Harlem Globetrotters group, which the tour's players have been compared to, AND1's players featured actually competitive games characterized by more flashy plays and moves often found in casual playground and pick-up games. 

Alley-oops and fancy dribbles highlighted much of this style of play during the 2000s, even reaching a point of popularity that rivaled that of the NBA, mainly due to the visually entertaining moves as well as odes to basketball's hip-hop roots. 

Since then, AND1 and its streetball tour have continued, but the style of play has since died down mainly due to the resurgence of the NBA, led by newfound young superstars like LeBron James, Kevin Durant and Derrick Rose. 

However, after arguably one of the best and most exciting seasons since the late 1990's "Jordan" era, the much anticipated 2011-2012 NBA season, has now come to a screeching halt, with the lockout.

As a result, many of the NBA's finest have looked elsewhere to stay in shape and maintain their basketball play.

Players like Deron Williams and Ron Artest have been linked to various teams overseas, committing to playing for teams in Turkey and the United Kingdom.

Other players, though, have instead shifted their focus from international waters to stateside play.

Lately, players like Kevin Durant, Michael Beasley and Brandon Jennings have returned to smaller court play, participating in casual leagues and tournaments.

In the process of coming back to their roots, players have also welcomed this fan-friendly and casual style of play, taking advantage of the free-flowing games to showboat a little for crowds.

High flying alley-oops and even the infamous "bounce the ball off the head" dribble move were on full display at New York's Rucker Park and Dyckman Park as players participated in games, finding fun in a summer full of lockout disappointment so far.

However, with park play also comes a bit of roughhousing as well.

So as we got to glimpses of Durant throwing down high-flying dunks and Jennings bouncing the ball off an opponent's head, we also saw Beasley shove a fan.

Players may not be on the biggest stage of them all, playing in front of thousands in packed stadiums, but they have found places to connect with fans up close and personal while reaching the mainstream audience via YouTube.

The NBA may not be up and running, but that doesn't mean the pros can't give the fans basketball in some form or another.