The Art of Basketball (excerpt) The Art of Basketball
By Kamal Quickley
“Basketball is not a game, it is an art form. You master the fundamentals so you can forget’em, so you can improvise and just concentrate on what really matters: getting a bucket.” —Kyrie Irving. H ow can basketball be an art form? An artist has to have an idea and paint what they want. They also have to be creative and focus on what they are doing. When you mess up a painting, you have to start over. The first time I came across basketball is when my grandmother bought me a basketball hoop for my birthday. I played in my backyard. I played all the time, about two hours a day. My basketball is brown, old, ripped up, with black lines to guide your fingers. It wouldn’t be used in a real game, but it’s a ball that I can practice with. I play my heart out. Seeing myself shoot the ball and hearing it slip through the net means I am getting better and helps me focus on shots I can make in real games. Basketball helps you get over things. When you are feeling down, you can play with friends and family. My grandfather and older cousin help me learn. They help me push through some things.
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Kamal is a Baltimore, MD, 10 th grade student.
I BelongMagazine.com, Autumn 2019. All rights reserved. Published by Unified Efforts, Inc., Baltimore, MD, https://unifiedefforts.org
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