The concrete stage is set for the all-stars of America’s favourite playground game to take flight in Shanghai. Enter the United States’ SKY Ball4life, arguably the world’s premier streetball team, and their gravity-defying China All-Stars opponent, the challenger in an international jam to be held on 8 August. The showdown marks a thrilling climax to the 2010 Voit SKY Shemgod China Tour, an ongoing event consisting of all things streetball, including training camps, an open run and a reality show documenting the tour which will air in autumn on CCTV5. What inspired this “ballsy” project? Sean Chu, the Shanghai-based representative of SKY and managing partner of Crossover Sports tells us, “We got involved in several smaller scale streetball events in 2007 and after seeing the fan reaction I knew there was a market [in China] for this type of unique, exciting basketball.”

“Once people here in China see the quality and skill of our players, and understand that these players honed their skills on the streetball courts of the USA, we believe they'll be inspired to do the same.”

Streetball has come a long way since its humble roots in the concrete jungles of the United States. Originally a basic pick-up style game, streetball helped young players refine their skills and develop reputations. Basketball stars like Wilt Chamberlain and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar were streetball legends who later achieved fame in the NBA. However, most streetball stars, while gods on the street, never gain mainstream status, a discrepancy that can be attributed to the contrasting nature of their respective games. Value-wise, streetball differs drastically from professional basketball, a sport defined by teamwork and fundamentals. Streetball places greater emphasis on showmanship, individual style and creativity – elements frowned upon in professional ball. Alley-oops, slam-dunks, flashy ball-handling and other moves the pro basketball world considers side-notes to the actual game, lie at the core of streetball. In fact, it is not uncommon for streetballers to engage in one-on-one play where their individual match-up becomes the focus of the game and the showier one’s moves – jab steps, ball fakes and crossovers – the better. On top of this, streetball draws much of its influence from the urban environment and unlike professional basketball where players wear official uniforms, streetballers often sport the latest in hip-hop fashion.

So how did this largely underground game explode onto the world’s stage? Streetball only hit the international scene fairly recently, beginning in 1999 with the formation of And1, the world’s first professional streetball team. And1’s subsequent distribution of the first well-known streetball DVD, Mixtape, captured global attention for the first time, and in 2002, the premier of Streetball, a top-rated reality TV show on ESPN, transformed the game into a worldwide phenomenon. In 2006, the founders of And1 and several of the world’s top streetball players formed the SKY Streetball Syndicate.