NBA stars are just like you: They play pickup basketball in their spare time.
On Tuesday, Carmelo Anthony hosted Kevin Durant, LeBron James, J.R. Smith and others at his home gym in New York, in probably the most impressive recreational game you’ll ever see.
According to ESPN, James actually flew to New York from Akron, Ohio specifically for the game, played for two hours, then flew home. Durant, meanwhile, came up from Washington D.C. for the occasion.
Carmelo posted a series of videos on Instagram showing highlights from the games. It’s pretty incredible to see All-Stars guarding each other in street clothes in an empty gym.
Everything about these clips will remind you of playing pickup at your local gym… except the quality of basketball, which is mind-bogglingly high. It’s almost disorienting to see a tomahawk dunk or a fadeaway turnaround from the corner in that kind of setting.
It looks like there was some serious effort in these games, which maybe shouldn’t be surprising. LeBron James doesn’t fly 450 miles to mess around.
