Venice Beach carried all the traits of a party Sunday evening; 90s R&B tunes from DJs, social influencers — with tripods in tow — showing up to get a view of the basketball courts to find what the fuss was all about and enough flashing lights to grab any European tourist’s attention.
Much of what you would have found during Legends Weekend in Venice — celebrating 20 years of basketball culture and community — had the classic hallmarks of the antics found on the boardwalks, down to the crowds surrounding performers such as “2K The Clown” and his posse dancing in clown makeup at the half-court logo as the blue and orange sunset faded day to night.
At the center of all the madness, a weekend honoring Kobe Bryant — who once broke his wrist in 2000 attempting a dunk at the courts — and many other late street-ball icons who made their impact on the boardwalk was Nick Ansom. Ansom, who rollerskated up and down the basketball court with a plastic orange top hat atop his head, is the founder and CEO of Veniceball.
Ask the legends — who have been playing physical, hard-nosed basketball on the courts for half a century — or up-and-coming basketball players who have made Venice their own with their slick style on the courts, Ansom is the heart and soul of modern-day Venice basketball, the man who’s kept the mission — of basketball and family — moving and growing year by year.
“This is the goodness of people right here,” Ansom said, before the finals of the Venice Basketball League kicked off on Sunday night. “Look where we are. We’re a legendary place, the most iconic basketball courts in the world. I call it the hoopers’ paradise.”
Hoopers’Benic paradise started with Ken Hicks, who helped start organized Venice basketball in the 1970s. Hicks, who grasped the microphone to share words of wisdom on Sunday, was handed his literal flowers from Ansom midway through the day’s events. Venice, Ansom said, represents a basketball culture that remembers its past while also honoring its present, too.
Ansom, who is French, moved to Venice from France when he was 13 years old in 2000. He learned English on the boardwalk, finding solace on the basketball courts, carving his way into a community he hoists on his shoulders today.
“Basketball is a universal language all over the world, and we ball here 365 [days],” Ansom said. “I was here at midnight, playing last night and playing with somebody from Australia, a couple of drunk guys living in Venice, and it’s just the beauty and magic of basketball that unites us. It transcends colors. It transcends borders.”
Sunday’s events included a youth 12U basketball all-star game, a Venice legends five-on-five game, a vertical jump contest, a 3-point contest, a dunk contest, a celebrity game and lastly, the VBL men’s finals. Each event provided its own flair.
Rasheed Smith, a Venice basketball player who played in the Legends game Sunday, has been hooping on the boardwalk for 48 years. Two months ago, Smith pulled into a gas station and caught sight of a 1989 black Cadillac limousine. He walked up to the owner and handed him his phone number, asking that if he ever thought of selling, Smith wanted to be the first call.
Two weeks later, the owner called. Smith purchased the limo. There was a purpose. He knew it was the best fit for one of Venice’s high-flying dunkers to jump over to create a new signature dunk for Legends Weekend.
“Doesn’t that sound awesome?” Smith said before the dunk contest.
Sure enough, the dunk became a spectacle, just as Smith predicted. Chris Staples, a basketball social media star known for his out-there dunks, took Smith up for the challenge — winning the dunk competition with a leap and slam over the limousine.
“I did not think that was the plan,” Staples said when asked if he ever imagined a limo would be a part of his dunk repertoire Sunday. “But [Legend’s Weekend] always brings out the adrenaline, the energy, and I just want to be able to get my fans and supporters a live show.”
Staples’ dunk earned 10s all around from judges, Josiah Johnson, Rafer Alston, Craig Smith and former Lakers player Cedric Ceballos, who is also the commissioner of the VBL.
Johnson, the former UCLA men’s basketball player and son of Marques Johnson, who was featured on the Venice courts in the 1992 film “White Men Can’t Jump” starring Wesley Snipes and Woody Harrelson, said Venice is the closest you’ll find to street basketball in New York.
“It’s got that West Coast Rucker Park kind of vibe,” said Johnson, who once sponsored Legend’s Weekend with his short-lived 2016 Comedy Central show, “Legends of Chamberlain Heights.”
Alston, who earned his “Skip to My Lou” nickname during pickup basketball runs at Rucker Park as a teenager before embarking on an 11-year NBA career, recognizes the culture on display in Venice.
Much like Smith, who touted the physical nature of the courts that built a competitive atmosphere while also building a family, Alston understands the way basketball fosters camaraderie.
“I grew up in around this type of community, so I know what it means to a community like this, man,” Alston said. “It’s a day every time they have this event. Everyone’s having a good time. Everyone’s happy when we’re all together here.”
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