The NBA has done a fantastic job of keeping their buzz alive post NBA Finals. The highly anticipated Free Agency period lived up to expectations with all of the off season moves.
The NBA will continue to ride this wave with the upcoming 2010 FIBA World Championship hosted in Turkey from August 28- September 12th. I know the NFL season will be underway, but I'm sure fans will support Team USA and tune in to see if they will reclaim that elusive Gold medal from Spain.
Believe it or not, despite being current Olympic Gold medal winners, Team USA hasn't won Gold at the World Championship games since 1994. That's a problem. And, one reason for that is because most elite NBA players decline the invitation to participate. So far, the roster includes Kevin Durant, David Lee, Chauncey Billups, Rudy Gay, Danny Granger, Brook Lopez, Andre Iguodala, Derrick Rose, Russell Westbrook, and Rajo Rondo, Tyreke Evans, and Stephen Curry. There are definitely some solid players on the list, but overall, the talent doesn't measure up to the 2008 Beijing Olympic Redeem Team.
Regardless, the show must go on. And, to get folks more excited about the tournament, Nike and USA Basketball have teamed up to put on the World Basketball Festival. The event will take place August 12-15th in New York City. It will kickoff at Radio City Music Hall (8/12) and travel around the city to Harlem's Rucker Park (8/13 - 8/14) and back downtown to Madison Square Garden (8/15). Here's the official word from NIKE and USA Basketball about the event.
This summer, NIKE, Inc. and USA Basketball are planning to bring the world's best basketball teams and top musical performers to New York City for the inaugural World Basketball Festival, a four-day celebration of the performance and culture of the game, an event that Nike has committed to reprising every two years.
The World Basketball Festival, August 12-15, features basketball's leading brands within the NIKE Inc. portfolio – Converse, the Jordan Brand, and Nike Basketball.
The World Basketball Festival will celebrate the creativity that surrounds the game and the inspiration, attitude, and athleticism that define it. On the hallowed ground of New York City courts, players and artists will demonstrate how the rhythm of a game has become the soundtrack of a culture and how a global community will unite to create basketball's new destiny.
The World Basketball Festival, August 12-15, features basketball's leading brands and 100 years of footwear tradition- Nikebasketball, Jordan, and Converse.
The event will also feature the top national basketball teams in the world, including China, Brazil, France, Puerto Rico, and the USA.This should be a cool event. If you live in the NYC area, then you should definitely check it out. For me, basketball + live music = sold! Although, the list of performers hasn't been released yet.
If you don't live in NYC, I'm sure you can follow the exhibition games on TV, however, I wasn't able to find details to confirm this. To learn more about the event, hit up the World Basketball Festival Facebook page at www.facebook.com/worldbasketballfestival and their website at http://worldbasketballfestival.nikemedia.com/.
Lastly, in true NIKE fashion, they have designed a World Basketball Festival Collection with several country-themed NIKE Zoom Hyperfuse colorways. Check them out below. I have no idea when these are dropping. Just know that they're "coming soon"!
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| Countries include (left to right) USA, Brazil, Canada, France and Puerto Rico. |
NEW SH*T!!!
As a new feature, I'm going to include links to related articles so you can learn more about each story. You likes?
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