We told you about it a few days ago, when the series was released, including the episode dedicated to Paris: Hoop Cities is available on the NBA League Pass, and we were able to watch all the episodes. So a few days before the recovery, here are the things to remember from this series which pays tribute to the beautiful basketball cities of Europe.
Paris, Bologna, Belgrade, Kaunas and Cologne, while still waiting for other cities.
For the launch of this series only available on the LP, the NBA decided to do things big, beautiful and colorful.
We could expect it with Paris, patriotism obliges, by imagining the most beautiful decorations of the capital accompanied by a few orange balls. But we must admit that the pleasure was just as present for the other episodes, with particular care given to local traditions. How not to smile when you see a taxi driver from Belgrade giving advice to an NBA scout on players to watch, in a car that smells of the 70s? How not to shake your head when you see Ettore Messina talking to us about tortellini in broth, with the passion of an Italian eater?
In each city, its history, its culture, its heroes, its tragedies, its rites and its customs.
This is perhaps one of the greatest successes of Hoop Cities: that of making us visit a city, and not just basketball clubs.
If you haven’t checked out “HOOP CITIES” with the special Paris episode yet, treat yourself to one of these 4 🇫🇷🥰
Evan Fournier, Jacques Monclar, Amara Sy, Stéphane Ashpool and other basketball lovers are serious about it 🫶
Available here ➡️ https://t.co/y0JLQeLadr pic.twitter.com/DHBnGUMnhB
— TrashTalk (@TrashTalk_fr) October 13, 2022
🏀🇬🇧 HOOP CITIES – PARIS! 🇬🇧🏀
The series of documentaries produced by the NBA, with a 100% Paris episode! ❤️@EvanFourmizz @JMonclar @AmarouXX @Pigalle_Paris and so many others declare their love for Paname and its basketball 🫶🥰
Available for free here ➡️ https://t.co/y0JLQeKCnT pic.twitter.com/hKgORVzAAF
— TrashTalk (@TrashTalk_fr) September 29, 2022
It remains to be seen what the next destinations will be, and whether the project will be exported to the whole world.
Because when we see Sarunas Jasikevicius tell us how Lithuania trains its young nuggets, we want to know more and fly elsewhere.
What about basketball culture in China, with Yao Ming among its speakers?
What about Cameroon or Congo, with Joel Embiid and Dikembe Mutombo to welcome us to their homes?
Will the Antetokounmpo family invite us to their table, to discover the joys of Athens and their love for basketball?
And will Andrew Gaze be side by side with Patty Mills to talk about the arrival of basketball in Australia?
The questions multiply, because as said above, the success of this series lies in its ability to balance between basketball and history, between performance and the human. While it interests us to know how many titles Red Star and Partizan Belgrade have shared over the years, it’s also the fan sentiment and stories within this rivalry that appeal to us. It’s the elements around the match, not the match alone. And it is enough to see the emotion on the faces of the narrators to understand that, yes, the cities in question were indeed basketball cities.
For those who already have the NBA League Pass, we will not suggest enough to rush to see this series of documentaries. With an NBA that globalize and stars who now come from all over the world, knowing all the American states will soon no longer be enough: knowing all the continents and capitals, that is the next objective.