Summer Jam Festival 2023: Where basketball ‘outsiders’, street kings can shine against the pros. READ MORE:
Nothing quite embraces or showcases the connection basketball has with the community — and the way the game opens doors for people from all walks of life — like the Summer Jam Festival, with the Streetball Championship to conclude this weekend in Melbourne.
Add in the support of major sponsors Foot Locker and Nike through the Jordan brand, and ambassadors like former NBL MVP and New York playground legend Corey ‘Homicide’ Williams and it’s easy to see why Summer Jam has become so successful. When Larman-Ripon came up with the idea of Summer Jam with Ella, they couldn’t have dreamed of how it would have grown over the next 10 years.
“This is just something that should have been there and for us to be the catalyst is a bit surprising, but at the same time we’re super happy with this wave that we’re currently riding, or even creating. Gaining that recognition now is super cool but this is still day one for us.
“Summer Jam gives them the opportunity to showcase that and it’s the outsiders who might just not have been in system. That’s a really cool thing to see because I think some of the pros who might go out there, they want to hold their own but it’s not a walk in the park for them.“They still really have to compete and that creates a different level of respect for the game and what it’s doing,” Larman-Ripon added.
Going back to 2022 and Indigenous team Binar Sports ended up taking out the title. On the back of that, several players earned NBL1 West contracts for the 2022 season including last year’s MVP Terrence ‘TK’ Kelly with the East Perth Eagles. “That was testament to them getting out there and playing against those level of guys. It just brings the fun back to basketball as well because it’s that loose plus it’s outdoors. I know that if I was out there playing in my younger days, I would have loved it. It’s also super fun to watch, not just to play in.”While Summer Jam was born in Melbourne and the home base will always be Prahran, the success was always going to be built on being able to expand.
“Everyone is represented and connecting for the right reasons, and that’s something we are very proud of. WA was awesome for that reason and the quality of basketball was incredible on top of it.”The popularity of the NBA within Australia has grown leaps and bounds over the past decade just with greater accessibility to it. The NBL numbers are soaring too and so are the participation levels across the country.
“It took a long while for New York City to recognise that, but then they embraced and it’s such a famous basketball city not just because of the Knicks but because of streetball. Street culture is such an important piece of the game in New York and it developed through the 60s, 70s and 80s. “Providing that space is almost like getting that Instagram blue tick when you have guys like that and wanting to be part of that. He has become a great friend of mine and I’m really happy to have him on this journey with us.The finals of Summer Jam for 2023 now take place this weekend at Princes Gardens, Prahran.
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