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The NBA offseason is in full effect. Rookies are now weeks removed from the official Summer League games and veterans are continuing their usual offseason workouts in gyms and weight rooms around the country.
But when the NBA lockout happened in 2011, the offseason bled into what would have been the actual season and players turned to other forms of competition to keep their bodies and spirits in shape. The first place some of the great players turned to were Summer Leagues that felt more like streetball tournaments than organized games, a brand of basketball outside of what you see in NBA arenas around the country, and fans were introduced to a whole new kind of ball.
The most notable of these Summer Leagues is the Drew League. The Drew League was established in 1973 in South Central L.A. by Alvin Wills who believed that the league’s purpose would be to take the most talented ballers off the streets of South Central and into a gym to perfect their craft during the summer months.
The league started out with six teams but has expanded to 28 “invitation only” squads that feature not just streetball legends but also some of the best NBA talent as well. Guys like Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, Kevin Durant, Paul Pierce and John Wall have all brought the raucous Drew League crowd to its feet because of the freedom allowed in the gym. So often the world’s best are confined by the rules and regulations of the NBA; the Drew League provides them with an opportunity to let their hair down and play the kind of basketball that made them fall in love with the game in the first place.
While the style of play in Drew League would never fly on a NBA floor, this year’s Drew League dunk contest, which took place last week, was an absolute marvel and one that if incorporated into NBA’s All-Star weekend could be just the sort of injection of flair that the contest is so desperate for. See for yourself:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?t=23&v=ZlI7Tqz5Y10
Sure, last year’s dunk contest was exciting because of Zach LaVine’s insatiable bounce, but imagine if the NBA contest brought some of these Drew League dunkers out of a gym in South Central and onto the biggest stage in the basketball world. Imagine the hype surrounding a contest that featured the NBA’s best dunkers against the best streetball dunkers in a no holds barred battle for aerial supremacy; it would be a spectacle like never before.
For the foreseeable future, the NBA probably will never consider this possibility because of logistics. But Adam Silver seems to be the most forward-thinking commissioner in the history of the sport, so this kind of competition on All-Star weekend isn’t out of the question. The dunk contest used to be what every basketball fan looked forward to on All-Star weekend, but now it seems like more of an afterthought. The Drew League has shown what it can bring to the table; now all it needs is a seat.
Douglas Ammon is an NBA Featured Writer for www.RantSports.com. Who covers all things about the Association, follow him on Twitter @DA76er
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