Game On: Basketball at Its Purest
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A version of this piece appears in the March 2022 issue of SI.
If you’re a basketball fan, you like where we’re headed on the calendar. The men’s and women’s NCAA tournaments. The NBA playoffs and WNBA tip off soon after. Hoops obsessives might barely leave the couch before June—but they will, because the best reminder of why we love the game is shooting and rebounding ourselves. So SI photographers went searching for some of the country’s most picturesque pickup spots. No crowds, no TV cameras—just basketball at its purest.
New York City
East River Greenway
(Beneath FDR Drive and the Manhattan Bridge)
Houston
MacGregor Park
5225 Calhoun Rd.
San Pedro, Calif.
Angels Gate Park
![san-pedro](https://www.si.com/.image/ar_100:100%2Cc_fill%2Ccs_srgb%2Cfl_progressive%2Cg_xy_center%2Cq_auto:good%2Cw_700%2Cx_1174%2Cy_102/MTg4NDM3Mjk0MjEzMTc4OTE5/sunset-bw.jpg)
![san-pedro](https://www.si.com/.image/ar_100:100%2Cc_fill%2Ccs_srgb%2Cfl_progressive%2Cg_xy_center%2Cq_auto:good%2Cw_700%2Cx_1101%2Cy_143/MTg4NDM3Mjk0MjEzMTEzMzgz/sunset-1.jpg)
Erick W. Rasco/Sports Illustrated
Camden, N.J.
Reverend Evers Park
Miami
José Martí Park
351 SW Fourth Ave.
(Under an I-95 overpass)
Los Angeles
Venice Beach
![venice-beach](https://www.si.com/.image/ar_100:100%2Cc_fill%2Ccs_srgb%2Cfl_progressive%2Cg_xy_center%2Cq_auto:good%2Cw_700%2Cx_808%2Cy_409/MTg4NDM3Mjk0MjEyOTgxOTc0/vb-1.jpg)
![venice-beach](https://www.si.com/.image/ar_100:100%2Cc_fill%2Ccs_srgb%2Cfl_progressive%2Cg_xy_center%2Cq_auto:good%2Cw_700%2Cx_530%2Cy_99/MTg4NDM3Mjk0MjEzMDQ3ODQ3/vb-2.jpg)
![venice-beach](https://www.si.com/.image/ar_100:100%2Cc_fill%2Ccs_srgb%2Cfl_progressive%2Cg_xy_center%2Cq_auto:good%2Cw_700%2Cx_823%2Cy_223/MTg4NDM3Mjk0MjEyOTgyMzEx/vb-3.jpg)
Erick W. Rasco/Sports Illustrated