Local NYC hoops stars bid for chance to play in Tracy McGrady’s new Ones Basketball League

Not far from the venerable Madison Square Garden , the energy inside Life Time Sky basketball courts in midtown Monday was high. Twenty-two of the area’s more notable street basketball players stepped onto the court for a shot at joining NBA Hall-of-Famer Tracy McGrady’s new one-on-one league as members of Team New York. The tryouts marked the first NYC event for the Ones Basketball League (OBL), a reboot of the one-on-one league recently announced by McGrady.

The OBL is part streetball revival, part global showcase—and for McGrady, a vision of the future where “AND1” streetball meets the digital age. “You go back to those early 2000s when the ‘AND1’ boys is hot. Could you imagine if social media was going on there?

They would have been stars, like, bigger than NBA players ,” McGrady said. “So I think in this day and age of social media, we just want to get that, bring that back, bring that type of culture, that type of recognition, back. ” Many of the players who tried out are fixtures at West 4th Street, Dykman Park, and Rucker Park, local legends with social media followings and international playing experience.

“I’m hoping that we can grow this sport nationwide and then global,” McGrady said. “You don’t see too many people talk about three on three basketball, but now it’s in the Olympics. This is a sport I think should be in the Olympics!