Jazz is to band as streetball is to basketball.
In both cases, black culture took something rigid, and turned it into something more fluid and expressive—a hybrid of personal flair and fundamentals. Putting the ball in the hole was only half the story —you had to look good doing it. Many NBA legends got their starts on grimy, crumbling, blacktop courts, but for years, streetball was given little mainstream respect.
Then, in 1993, Seth Berger, Jay Gilbert, and Tom Austin founded AND1, and middle America rethought its perspective.
Jazz is to band as streetball is to basketball.
In both cases, black culture took something rigid, and turned it into something more fluid and expressive—a hybrid of personal flair and fundamentals. Putting the ball in the hole was only half the story —you had to look good doing it. Many NBA legends got their starts on grimy, crumbling, blacktop courts, but for years, streetball was given little mainstream respect.
Then, in 1993, Seth Berger, Jay Gilbert, and Tom Austin founded AND1, and middle America rethought its perspective.
hot sauce
Officially, AND1 sold shoes and athletic wear, but what they really sold was hip-hop attitude. Their slogans and branding valued individualism, brashness, and alpha status above all else. Nike and Reebok were multi-million dollar empires with family friendly philosophies. The Harlem Globetrotters had the streetball moves, but none of the vibe. AND1, on the other hand, provided something a little more edgy. Their marketing sold basketball as a competitive, gritty manner of life and expression—not merely a game.
kazaa
In 1998, AND1 started releasing their streetball ‘mixtapes’ on the Internet. At the time, I was 14, and since I had a dial-up modem, I couldn’t watch the videos even if I wanted to—it took over 30 minutes to download a single MP3 off of Napster. By 2001, however, I was in college, and my dorm had high speed cable access. And one of the first things I downloaded off of Kazaa was this.
ea
In 2001, EA Sports, in collaboration with the NBA, joined the streetball craze, releasing an incredible video game that spawned its own franchise. We are of course talking about NBA Street for the Playstation 2—a bonafide classic with endless replayability. Even though later Street games improved the core gameplay, they’ve never duplicated the freshness and outsized personality of the original.
jordan
You began the City Circuit Campaign by designing your own baller, and you set his abilities with a limited number of Skill Points—you earned more Points as the campaign progressed. There were a lot of categories to spend the points on—2 Pointers, 3 Pointers, Dunks, Power, Blocks, Steals, Handles, and Quicks. You could either spread the skill points over several categories, or you could focus on making one skill particularly strong. I always chose to max out my Blocking first—more on that later.
So after you designed your player, you started the single player campaign, and you got your first big surprise. Not only was Michael Jordan in the game, but you got to start the campaign with him on your team! This felt like a gift from heaven. Most games would make you earn MJ, but NBA Street’s developers realized a fundamental truth—that playing three shitty players with shitty stats would not make for a fun experience. Aside from Blocking, MJ’s stats were through the roof, and he made it easier for you to learn the basics, adjust to the difficulty, and level up your character.
bonafide
You leveled up by playing against NBA Teams, which were divided into Regions—in Region #1, you had to beat the Grizzlies and the Raptors. If you won, you earned Skill Points, plus the ability to recruit someone from the losing team. So, when you beat the Raptors, you could recruit Vince Carter. When you beat the Spurs, you could recruit Tim Duncan. When you beat the Pacers, you could recruit Reggie Miller. And so forth.
At the end of each conquered Region, you faced off against a Streetball Legend, who could then be recruited as well. Each of these Streetball Legends had a single, highly specialized skill that could turn the tide of any game. Bonafide was a quick handler who could steal the ball with ease. Drake was an Eminem wannabe with range for days. And my personal favorite, Takashi, was a massive, gangly monster with maxed out Blocking stats.
handles
Out of all the Stats, Blocking was the most important, followed closely by Handles. There was no goaltending in NBA Street—nothing to prevent you from camping under your opponent’s basket, forcing him to shoot, and swatting the ball out of the air. So, every great team needed at least one big guy. However, if you tried to do a crossover with Shaq, he would trip over his own feet. So, you needed a smaller guy with Handles, to bring the ball upcourt and steal it on Defense. Lastly, you needed a scorer—someone with great Shooting or Dunking stats—to run offense on the fast breaks.
jam
Just like its spiritual predecessor, NBA Jam, NBA Street had several unlockable characters. There was Rafer ‘Skip To My Lou’ Alston and Stephon ‘Starbury’ Marbury, and there were also some off-the-wall characters, like Magma Man, an Alien, and a massive, 8-foot-tall Yeti. In what might be the weirdest cameo ever, you could also play as 3LW, the R&B girl group from the early 00’s.
sterling
Today, basketball and hip hop are inseparably intertwined—the NBA, rather than denying hip hop’s spiritual contributions to the game, has come to embrace them. NBA Street was a bold, clear statement to a new, younger generation. As people like Donald Sterling continue to get old and die, and young people of color continue to gain power and influence, their culture, and its brash, hard scrabble values, will be praised rather than pushed to the side. If you still have your PS2, blow the dust off and replay NBA Street.
Dinner’s served!
