LONG READ: Full Court Press
After the pandemic, basketball became something new in ways I couldn’t have anticipated. I’d always been involved in it throughout most of my life, as a player and fan but when the ability to play was taken away due to COVID-19 lockdown restrictions, the passion for it grew and changed. It became a source of joy. Basketball’s the place I go when I want to let go and shed the day, where I go to meet people and catch up with players I haven’t seen in a long time and to learn from the next generation of players. That feeling when you knock down a shot never gets old, there’s still a sense of euphoric pride after all of these years.
In Britain, I’ve been able to witness interest and participation grow exponentially in so many different ways. From trying to convince friends to play with me after school, I now don’t have to search that hard to find people to play a pickup game. It used to be that people could only name
Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls. Nowadays, I’m seeing NBA memorabilia being worn everywhere. Dunks and Jordans weren’t that popular, if ever, for people who didn’t play basketball and now, you can’t go a day without seeing a pair.
We reached out to our network to gain a deeper level of understanding of where British Basketball is currently at and what it needs in order to maximise its potential as a leading sport among young people. Speaking to Sevian (30), a fine artist and former player and Henry
(30), a commercial director and lifelong fan and our Instagram network via a poll, they were able to shed some light on the perception of British basketball, its position on the national and global stage and how communities are breathing life into the game.
Numbers on the board
The myth that has surrounded basketball in Britain for decades is that it has never been as popular as traditional sports such as football, rugby, cricket and tennis. While that is largely true to an extent, the reason why those sports have gained global popularity, participation and
appeal is due to Britain’s colonial history. “I think British basketball culture is nascent, if I’m honest. It’s emerging in the grand scheme of things. In terms of the rest of the world, it’s very small, but it’s also very determined and I think that’s a byproduct of it being so small,” Henry says.
Basketball’s popularity in the UK can be attributed to British players who have played overseas on the game’s biggest stage in the NBA. Names such as Steve Bucknall, John Amaechi, Luol Deng, Pops Mensah-Bonsu, Michael Olowokandi and many more have helped give young people role models and pathways into professional careers to follow. Basketball is the second most played sport among 11-16 year olds across the UK and is largely due to ease of access which has increased considerably following the Commonwealth Games in 2002 and the London Olympics in 2012.
In 2022, British Wheelchair Basketball launched its inaugural Women’s league with teams based at four universities: Cardiff Metropolitan University, Loughborough University, University of East London and University of Worcester. With the GB team ranked 2nd in the world and the women’s team winning silver at the 2018 world championships and 2019 European championships, in addition to the men’s team recently winning titles in both competitions. accessibility and inclusivity are vital to the game’s progression.
Participation levels within British basketball range from amateur to professional with a wide range of opportunities for players to enjoy the game casually or develop their skills and build careers. Basketball is also in a unique position within the UK in that it’s one of the most
inclusive sports, with over 50% of players coming from a BAME background. That’s a rare opportunity for a British sport to find itself in.
Beyond the love of the game
Despite the numbers suggesting that basketball remains the second-most played sport in the UK with 1.3 million people playing on a regular basis, the sport still suffers from a lack of funding from UK Sport, the government agency responsible for investing in Olympic and Paralympic sport. It’s a catch 22 as UK Sport provides funding based on likelihood of medal achievements. GB Basketball international records at the FIBA World Cup, EuroBasket and the Olympics has historically left a lot to be desired with the highest ranking being the men’s team coming 9th in
London 2012. The women’s team has been far more successful, achieving 4th place in 2019 at EuroBasket. In 2023, The Guardian reported that the British Basketball Federation receives less than £500,000 annually from UK Sport, which goes towards travel and competition costs for national teams across all age groups. The funding also goes toward licensing the British leagues for men (British Basketball League) and women (Women’s British Basketball League). Compared to the £5.65m sailing receives annually, £3m for equestrian and £1.55m for shooting, the issue goes far beyond the idea that UK Sport bases its funding on predictions of medal success.
Basketball is one of the most accessible sports due to the minimal equipment and specialist training required. Even if played at an amateur level, all that is needed is a flat surface and a hoop. Basketball England’s website court finder tool suggests there are 6,000 indoor courts and 3,000 outdoor courts across the country but the climate and weather conditions remains a barrier meaning basketball competes with badminton and indoor football for spaces in leisure centres which often also charge a fee for hiring. “The traditional pathway in Britain would be: a 15-year-old, leaving Britain to go and play either in Spain or in the US. There is no domestic traditional pathway here at all and I think that’s a real shame,” Henry says, “The pathway would be someone promising at a young enough age leaving the UK to either go to a prep school in the US and then play through the traditional US system. Or signing with a professional team in Spain, because they have the most teams and the biggest investment academies and playing up through their system there.”
Perhaps the future of British basketball and its commercial success lies beyond public funding and through partnerships and investments from brands. Over a decade of austerity has seen public funding slashed and basketball has been one of the most affected sports. Nike Jordan’s
public commitment of $100m of investment into tackling social and racial inequality is one of the many ways in which a brand has taken up the responsibility of working to improve access and participation within basketball.
“Funding for the pro ranks, pro pathways and good youth set ups,” are key to the development and growth of mainstream basketball, says @jbrown235 in an Instagram poll. “I think there needs to be space for us to really tap into the government because we’re doing a lot. But at the lower levels. And to make the biggest change, we need to be able to impact the government and get more funding, but also impact the people around positions of power within the basketball governing bodies to allocate funding and resources in the best way possible. I know they started a coaching initiative in conjunction with the NBA, so that’s positive,” Sevian says.
We’re in a cultural league of our own
While global basketball culture has historically been associated with the dominance of the NBA, the league didn’t truly attain its position without star players such as Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson, Larry Bird and more recently LeBron James and Stephen Curry. These players have imprinted their own stamp on the game while influencing generations to take up the sport, whether as a player or fan.
The cultural meccas of basketball have also often been aligned with cityscapes where hip-hop has had a stronghold, such as New York City, Los Angeles, Chicago and Detroit. The two have gone hand in hand, particularly since the launch of the Jordan brand in 1985 but it took
the NBA a long time to leverage the cultural relationship it shares with hip-hop. In fact, the league actively attempted to dissociate with it when former commissioner David Stern implemented a dress code that forbade players from wearing street clothing and early iterations of streetwear. “Ultimately, the UK or at least London and its culture is really cool on a global scale, look at our cultural output compared to the size of our country, it’s massive. You know, there is a reason that Skepta is a global Icon.” Henry says.
On the court, you’re more likely to see players wear Nike Tech Fleece tracksuits rather than baggy shorts and oversized NBA replica jerseys. Off the court, iconic basketball shoes such as Jordans and Dunks are the zeitgeist among sneakerheads and mainstream shoe culture in the UK. “We used to have socks and slides but now crocs are definitely up there when you come off court, it’s a mix definitely. We’ve definitely seen a growth with Jordans on court and then you’ve always got Nikes. Now the resurgence of Kobes coming back on the market and Puma stepping up with the Melos” Sevian says.
The UK on the other hand hasn’t quite boasted a player of this calibre within basketball but since the reemergence of Jordan shoes in the 2010s, basketball has heavily influenced fashion both on and off the court. There isn’t a cultural entity or phenomenon that is uniquely British within
the game. This presents brands with an opportunity to dig deeper and tap into what separates the British game from the rest of the world. GG3x3 and Ballout are two platforms that champion and amplify community basketball projects taking place across the UK and due to the lack of formal programmes and a tendency for players to age out post 18, what is currently missing is opportunities for high-level players to play outside of professional structures.
Since there has long been a misconception that the UK hasn’t always embraced basketball culture, over the years, that idea has allowed fans and players to adopt their own unique style and further impact the game. We reached out to our extensive network to find out what has made the game in the UK stand in a league of its own compared to the global game. “Grit. Players have something to prove over here because football is our major sport,”@shamz700 told us. “Electric, full of culture and always increasing. It’s the highest it’s ever been at the moment.” Players in the UK have learned that in order to thrive in basketball or to hold onto spaces, there’s always going to be a fight for survival.
Is basketball the UK’s next hype?
All the signs are pointing to basketball’s growing popularity and dominance in the UK and across Europe. Since the 1980s, the NBA has hosted exhibitions and regular season games across cities such as Paris, London, Manchester, Milan, Berlin and Istanbul. With the NBA’s increased global presence coinciding with the arrival of Michael Jordan in the league and the 1992 Olympic Dream Team, Europe has been a key market for the league for decades.
In 2011, the league hosted its first European regular season game overseas where the Toronto Raptors faced the Brooklyn Nets at London’s O2 Arena across two games. While the NBA is the pinnacle of men’s global professional basketball, Europe’s professional leagues aren’t far behind, with the American league’s past five MVP awards going to overseas players, shifting the balance of superstar dominance.
It’s not just the NBA that has attracted eyes in the UK. BIG3, the premier 3x3 professional tournament founded by actor and rapper Ice Cube held its first championship game in London in 2023 and will be hosting its 2024 edition at the O2 Arena in August. Homegrown 3x3 tournament Ball Out has been growing each year and partners with JD Sports, England Basketball, Wingstop and NBA 2K. It’s given pathways for players outside of the traditional school-college-professional pipeline, where winners of the tournament have the opportunity to play in the FIBA 3x3 World Tour. Increased opportunities to play at a professional level are vital when it comes to creating a sense of fulfilment and inclusivity. “I think summertime is the best time to know about British basketball, because you can actually check in with a lot of the players at the parks. Players have come back from overseas and there are a lot of fun tournaments that happen during the summer.” Sevian says. Over the coming years, our network sees a migration of players moving into the NBA as professional pathways increase as well as the British Basketball League expanding its viewership not just in the UK but globally as well. Women’s football and its growing participation and viewership are things that basketball can learn from.
Despite being over twenty years since its release, Bend It Like Beckham highlighted the disparities between women’s and men’s football and the differing pathways to reaching professional levels. The USA has long established itself as a destination for young women to develop their skills, as grassroots infrastructures are more commonly placed. As football is an adopted sport and not necessarily homegrown, women’s football in America has had to operate outside of the normal bounds and for basketball to grow in the UK, lessons can be learned.
How brands are boosting the game
In 2022, Hennessy and the NBA hosted a celebrity tournament in London to celebrate the NBA’s 75th anniversary, along with other community events. The ‘London’s Got Game’ tournament that took place on a floating court on the Thames featured the likes of D Double E, Backroad Gee, Che Lingo, and P Money with teams made up of platforms such as Complex UK, TRENCH, GRM Daily, Bone Soda, No Signal, BB Records and LinkUpTV.
While this event proved to be a success in terms of celebrating the NBA’s long and storied history, marquee events that centre on celebrity involvement can often feel echo-chambered as many of those involved may not be fans or have a long-term investment in the game. The
recent All Star Game has raised questions around the format, where its relevance has long been debated by NBA stars, pundits and fans alike. The question to ask is, why would your average 18-20-something be interested in content around a celebrity event which isn’t open to the public? What value can be gained long-term for the NBA brand that has spent the better part of thirty years building its global reputation?
Clapham Common has long been home to one of London’s most popular basketball courts and underwent a major renovation in 2021 by Foot Locker, NBA, Hoopsfix, Basketball England and Lambeth Council, as part of the ‘Raise The Game’ campaign aiming to support local basketball communities and networks with courts in Paris, Milan and Barcelona being refurbished. “I would say Nike and Jordan have been doing really well, in terms of helping the basketball community”, Sevian states. The revamp of Clapham Common is a unique case study as an open-for-all basketball space adheres to the values that makes the sport inclusive and accessible within the
UK. On any given weekend, provided the weather conditions are clear, you’ll often see hundreds of players attend one of the few modern purpose-built outdoor basketball courts in London. It’s now seen as the premier outdoor court in London but for many, it’s still out of reach and requires a significant amount of travel.
To celebrate Black History Month in 2021, Nike Jordan connected with Brixton Topcats to tell the story of Michael Jordan’s first visit to London in 1985. Immediately following his rookie season and a year after the Topcats launch, founder Jimmy Rogers invited Jordan to a training session where he would practise with local kids. By spotlighting a lesser-known history regarding Michael Jordan, the brand was able to contextualise the significance of his visit to Brixton and provide a level of relatability. The short film that was released gave players who had been coached by Rogers and knew him a sense of pride in that he was one of the most pivotal figures within the British game. The film was accompanied by a series of panel talks and community events that aimed to speak to cultural and social issues impacting Black people beyond the sport.
Jordan leaned into the uniqueness of basketball’s cultural relevance and gave the brand a platform to address wider social issues without it feeling as though it were just a box-ticking exercise that many brands seemed like they were compelled to do during that period. “If you have the power of Nike, Jordan, Adidas, whoever else you know, getting behind British basketball and actually putting it out through their channels and making their own content about it, it will inevitably be bigger. And also maybe I think the draw of getting some bigger name talent with player recognition to play in the league, even if it’s at the dying tail end of their career. I think that’s a massive thing,” Henry says.
At the centre of basketball’s growth in recent years has been the British Basketball League. Despite its inception in 1987 and wavering interest over the decades, the league has recently secured TV broadcasting rights in the US with NBC Sports, NESN and The Yes Network.
While these are regional broadcasting rights, it’s part of a wider strategy for the British Basketball League to become an entertainment product. The key for British basketball ideally should be to provide global fans with an offering that supplements the NBA and EuroLeague as opposed to being perceived as a competitor.
In Europe, a longstanding tradition among some of the most recognisable and popular football clubs, such as FC Barcelona, Real Madrid, and FC Bayern Munich, has been to incorporate a basketball team within the wider club. Pau Gasol, arguably one of the most decorated European basketball players to make it into the NBA, began his career at FC Barcelona before being drafted by the Memphis Grizzlies in 2001. Is the future of British basketball increasing its global popularity through teams falling under the umbrella of Premier League football clubs and leveraging decades of existing cultural and global relevance?
The UK has hoop dreams
The future of any sport and its success in the UK is founded upon investment and participation at a grassroots level. In the USA and Europe, there are clear pathways to building successful careers within basketball at both a professional and amateur level for players, coaches and fans.
In Basketball England’s ‘Growing Basketball Together’ strategic plan for 2018-2024, the body has outlined four key ambitions that would see improvements in the game from grassroots level all the way through to retired alumni who still contribute to the sport:
RETAIN & GROW PARTICIPATION
- Increase participation and grow the community game through a ‘retain and grow’ strategy
WORLD-CLASS TALENT SYSTEM
- Develop a talent system for players, volunteers and professionals to develop in an inclusive and progressive way
ENHANCE OUR INFRASTRUCTURE
- To develop, support and sustain a high-quality infrastructure network that inspires the next generation and meets the needs and demands of the game for the future
- Govern, shape and service basketball in an efficient and effective way, so it is safe, fun, engaging, inspiring and attractive to investment as a recognised high-performing and fully sustainable sport.
BE A HIGH-PERFORMING NATIONAL GOVERNING BODY (NGB)
- Govern, shape and service basketball in an efficient and effective way, so it is safe, fun, engaging, inspiring and attractive to investment as a recognised high-performing and fully sustainable sport.
With 50% of basketball participants coming from BAME backgrounds, the influence of global stars such as Steph Curry, Victory Wembanyama and LeBron James as well as the NBA’s global outreach, has influenced a new generation of basketball enthusiasts beyond players and coaches. The increasing influx of European players into the league has given British fans an added layer of familiarity. The past five MVP awards have all gone to players such as Giannis Antetokounmpo, Nikola Jokic, Joel Embiid, who are non-American, with many debating that there has been a shift in not only how the game is played but what is seen as the golden standard of basketball. The challenge for homegrown products such as the British Basketball League is finding ways to leverage and convert existing NBA fans as well as being seen as a hotbed for talent development.
Basketball’s future in the UK will also require key stakeholders to partner and align commercial with community interests, taking a more ‘out of the box’ style approach that may not necessarily work for long-established sports such as football, rugby and tennis which have centuries of infrastructure at all levels. Basketball intersects with culture and music in much more seamless ways compared to traditional British sports and this is a vital component to growing basketball in the UK. Henry points to how the British game is presented and packaged and admits that there’s more work to be done; “I mean the product looks semi-professional but I think the product needs to continue to be more and more professional looking. By the product I mean the games, the games and the way they are broadcast. Ultimately, people in the UK are spoiled in that we have the best football league in the world here. So they’re watching top bar sports broadcasts from that.”
Keeping community and the expansive networks of both informal and formal basketball front of mind will help brands engage enthusiasts beyond a streetwear and celebrity level. “More courts and pickup tournaments. I stopped playing because of a lack of both in my area” @hussamthamoud told us. Those who have helped build up British basketball culture will be the ones who pass it down to the next generation, while they look to take it into arenas that it has never been before. “There are influential tastemakers in this country. Let’s put them to work. As soon as I heard Reebok was relaunching their basketball division, Allen Iverson and Shaq were the faces of it. I don’t know if they still are, but they are the public-facing side of it. I immediately thought, like, wow, if the BBL can get Reebok as not just a kit provider but as a partner, that would be great,” Henry says.
Whichever way you look at basketball in the UK, there’s a general sentiment among all those involved at all levels that now, more than ever, is the time for it to grow and develop with the next generation and future always top of mind.