Boys and Their Balls - Part 18

 Basketball

Basketball is a favorite American sport.  I previously showed this 1967 photo of Bill Bradley, player for the New York Knicks, taken by LIFE photographer John Zimmerman.  Bradley went on to become a U.S. Senator.

Another vintage photo: Phil Jackson of the New York Knicks in 1973.

We have more recent pro basketball player photos thanks to the ESPN Body Issues.  Kevin Love of the Cleveland Cavaliers made the cover in 2015.

Blake Griffin of the LA Clippers.

Isaiah Thomas of the Boston Celtics.

Above is Polish basketball player Iwo Kitzinger, in a photo that is certainly not from ESPN, because it's full-frontal.

This short video clip shows Anthony Davis of the LA Lakers in some kind of naked hazing rite when he was a freshman at the University of Kentucky.  Judging by his smiling and mugging at the end of the clip, he doesn't seem to mind too much.

But of course, basketball isn't just for professionals.  Amateurs everywhere like to shoot some hoops, like the guys above.

Here's a video clip of the same guys playing.  They're not great basketball players, but they're having fun.  And we're not really watching for their basketball skills, are we, as acknowledged at the end by the guy giving us a very brief wink.