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It’s June 23rd, we’re in Coney Island, New York, and in the words of Samuel L. Jackson, “I have today’s forecast. Hot!” But amidst the blistering heat of this Sunday afternoon, shaded by trees and buildings that overlook the streets of Brooklyn from a hundred feet above, people line up around the court for a chance to compete in AND1’s Open Run Tour.
Hosted by AND1 as they continue pushing the envelope of streetball, the Open Run Tour was jam-packed with high-flying dunks and whiplash-inducing crossovers. Beyond the classic five-on-five matchups, the event featured a dunk contest, electric one-on-one matchups, shootarounds and a women’s three-on-three game. By bringing back some OG mixtape legends as judges, the Open Run built an atmosphere and energy that starkly contrasts that of the League; it’s physical, expressive, and most importantly, requires a completely different mindset.
“It’s a physical thing, but I think it’s also a mental thing. I think with streetball, as well as the NBA, you have to have a lot of mental toughness, you know?” says AND1 Brand Director Dexter Gordon. “It’s no blood, no foul. It toughens you up, and that’s the whole thing. … You’re gonna get knocked down, you’re gonna have the fans talking trash shit. … You get bumped around, [but] you know what, you learn a lot.”
Dating back to the days of Julius Erving and Wilt Chamberlain playing at Rucker Park, New York City has been the Mecca of streetball. The parks are where hip-hop meets basketball, where people come together through the power of sport. And though most will immediately think of Rucker Park when they hear the word “streetball,” it’s Coney Island that holds a special place in the hearts of many, including AND1’s. “It’s just good to get back out in the community. The first [NBA Ambassador] we ever signed, Stephon Marbury, was born and raised in Coney Island,” Gordon says. While Marbury and the history of his inaugural AND1 signature sneaker were felt from afar, another Coney Island native and longtime member of the AND1 family, Lance Stephenson, pulled up to the runs.
And in the decades since its humble origins in the parks of New York, streetball has forever permeated itself into basketball culture. Not only for what ensued on the court-with Shane “The Dribbling Machine” Woney, Leaky Roof, Whit3 Iverson, The Pharmacist, Skip 2 My Lou, Aaron “AO” Owens, Duke Tango and Hot Sauce selling tens of thousands of mixtapes, racking up millions of views on YouTube and leaving a mark on every streetball event they attend, including this year’s Open Run at Coney Island-but off the court, as well. Whether that’s the two headbands, the high socks or the big baggy shorts, those fashion sensibilities had ’00s hip-hop and NBA circles routinely rocking the infamous AND1 aesthetic.
Nevertheless, a lot can change in over a decade, and it’s no understatement to say the basketball landscape has radically shifted in a post-Mixtape Tour world. Dexter Gordon encapsulates this sentiment, saying, “We really kind of started the mixtape, but now look, every kid has a mixtape.” And when everyone’s playing catch-up, you have to stay one step ahead.
But Gordon isn’t too concerned with acclimating to the age of social media; quite the opposite. “As big as AND1 was in the ’90s and early 2000s, think about this: there was no social media. But we still reached other countries with the Mixtape Tour and the VHS mixtapes, and then they went to the DVDs, but now everything is online,” Gordon says. “So I think social media is a great tool, you know?”
Looking forward, AND1 is undergoing a balancing act of sorts, introducing streetball to a new generation of fans while preserving its decorated roots. “We’ll never stop celebrating our past, our legacy, our culture. … [But] moving forward, we kind of have to meet the younger kids where they are. So, of course, some things have to change, [and] you have to adapt to what’s going on,” Gordon says. And that starts with finding new talent to represent the culture, with current Globetrotter and former national champion Alexis Morris-AND1’s first female athlete-being one of their key additions.
This isn’t just basketball; it’s about creating a community and giving out opportunities. And nothing captures that better than streetball.
When asked about the impact the Open Run holds off-the-court, Dexter Gordon had many things come to mind-whether that’s the gratitude people expressed towards the OG Mixtape Legends or young NBA players recounting memories of watching Hot Sauce. But one stood above the rest: “We were going to the communities and, you know, for that day and that time of that event, man, there was no violence. You had gang members, guys that had beef with each other that would come together in this park [and play ball].”
Portraits by Evan Bernstein.
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