The athleticism that some of these street ballers have is off the charts. It has always intrigued me that that almost none of the playground legends have done well in structured, organized basketball, college or pro. By well, I mean careers with any longevity or high productivity. It seems that it is just in the milieu of the free flowing playground/street game where they flourish. Nearly every city of size has a legendary player or two, sometimes more, who stimulate the imagination with what they can do, and each has a story, some of them a tragic one.
I don't think any other sport has quite the same background noise as basketball.