We’re less than two weeks away from the start of this year’s round of New York City’s hottest streetball league, Dyckman Basketball League, a summer-long event with a young, rich history playing host to some of America’s best ballers to grace the hardwood floor.
Created in 1990 (where the home team walked away as inaugural champions), the tournament began as a one division, six team, twelve man roster format to create a positive environment for the local fight against drugs and gang wars in the Inwood/Washington Heights section of New York City. Tournament organizers Kenneth Stevens, Omar Booth and Michael Jenkins brought their event idea to Monsignor Kett Playground in Upper Manhattan at 204th Street and Nagle Avenue (off Broadway) and in the past almost 30 years, have expanded from a word of mouth league to a tournament that now hosts over 60Â teams in six different age groups. Over the past few years, the tournament has become one of the most highly anticipated and notable summer basketball events within the New York tri-state area.
There are now over 100 teams who enter the tournament, with players starting as young as seven years old all the way up to the professional level. Dyckman is an NCAA and NBA sanctioned league that averages roughly 10,000 fans on a weekly basis while receiving great coverage from media outlets such as SLAM, ESPN, MSG, New York Times, New York Post, Daily News, National Geographic and of course, The Source (we’re proudly sponsoring this year’s games). Fan support and interaction are at an all time high on Wednesdays especially, when radio station HOT 97’s on-air DJs and personalities make appearances to enhance the city’s legendary streetball culture.
Some of the NBA’s finest hoopers have made surprise appearances at Dyckman to test their skills against uptown’s best ballers: Former NBA MVP Kevin Durant, LA Laker and Queensbridge’s own Metta World Peace, Cleveland Cavaliers shooting guard J.R. Smith, Toronto Raptors’ own DeMar Derozan, New Orleans Pelicans point guard Tyreke Evans, Charlotte Hornets point guard Kemba Walker (returning this year as a coach) and Orlando Magic point guard Brandon Jennings are among the select few to put on a show in front of thousands at the Playground. With Mr. ChaChing on the mic to entertain the crowd, Dyckman is the place to check out why major supporters such as Nike and the New York Knicks put their co-sign on this historical tournament which will continue to introduce the world to another level of streetball competition at its best.
Monday, June 13, 2016 will be the perfect day to witness why Dyckman is considered the best streetball tournament in New York City and in the world. Meet us there and be sure to show your support with the #SourceSports hashtag.