The months of August and September tend to be quiet in the basketball world. But this year there's something extra going on, and it's extremely cool.
InsideHoops.com will post coverage on Sunday and Monday.
In a fusion of sport and culture, Nike and USA Basketball bring the world's best basketball teams together with a surprise musical guest (Jay-Z) in New York City for the inaugural Nike World Basketball Festival, a four-day celebration of the performance and culture of the game.
The World Basketball Festival, August 12-15, features basketball's leading brands within the Nike portfolio - Converse, the Jordan Brand, and Nike Basketball.
The event tips off with a showcase featuring members of the 2010 USA Basketball National Team on-court at historic Radio City Music Hall, followed by an electrifying musical performance featuring a top artist which has been revealed to be legendary New York City rap star Jay-Z.
The action moves uptown on August 13 and 14 to New York City's legendary basketball courts at Rucker Park in Harlem for open-air practices and scrimmages by National Teams from Brazil and Puerto Rico, and training by France, mixed with performances by some of the best DJs in the country, in addition to a grassroots youth tournament serving as the championships for some of New York's top summer basketball leagues. We'll be there to check out all the action and let you know what happens. We'll post updates on this page.
For those that don't know, Rucker is actually pretty small. It's basically the size of any regular playground park, and while there is seating, it's limited. Fans can squeeze in, but there's very little elbow room. So when there's a hot event, the few and the fortunate get to witness it.
The World Basketball Festival finishes up on Sunday, August 15 with an exhibition double-header featuring the United States taking on France (1 p.m. EDT) and China meeting Puerto Rico (3:30 p.m. EDT) at famed Madison Square Garden. InsideHoops.com will be there to cover both games.
The four day festival will be rounded out with a special showing of an Air Force 1 documentary at Harlem's famed Apollo Theater and special exhibits including The Ballroom, a Nike, Brand Jordan and Converse product innovation experience on display in NYC for a limited engagement.
