Rucker Park in Harlem, New York, has seen its fair share of iconic pickup basketball games.
Saturday marks the 24th anniversary of Lakers great Kobe Bryant showing up at Rucker Park to play pickup games against fans.
The anniversary of Bryant at Rucker Park came right after he won his third NBA title with the Lakers, cementing him and Shaquille O’Neal as one of the greatest duos to play for the franchise.
When Bryant pulled up to the park, he came with his entourage, his fist in the air, as basketball fans attending the event cheered endlessly for the reigning champion.
Upon his arrival at the park, Bryant shouted: “Straight to the court.”
According to Ericka Goodman-Hughey and Anthony Olivieri from ESPN, Rucker Park has had many famous names play pickup games, including Allen Iverson and Kevin Garnett. The difference with their performances and Bryant’s, however, was that Bryant was much quieter about his appearance.
At the peak of pickup street basketball games during the early 2000s, Rucker Park was a staple for some of the most iconic pickup games.
Pickup basketball has been a crucial part of New York’s basketball culture, as the games were not played like traditional basketball games; the players would perform all sorts of trick shots and flashy moves against each other.
Bryant’s performance lasted only one half because the event ended up getting rained out. But still, he put on a show in which he tallied 15 points, seven assists and seven rebounds.
During the event, Bryant was seen performing all kinds of flashy plays such as bouncing the ball over opponents’ heads, making passes behind his head and alley-ooping the ball to himself off the backboard to make a dunk.
Outside of performing plays that are considered unconventional in basketball, Bryant also performed some of his more traditional moves, such as shooting 3-pointers, performing layups, and of course, his signature step-back fadeaway shot.
When the event was over, Bryant interacted with the fans who attended and greeted them as a way to show respect.
