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New York Times
15-02-2025
- Sport
- New York Times
Steph Curry's fans include Harlem Globetrotters alumni: 3 showmen weigh in
SAN FRANCISCO — The job requirements for being a Harlem Globetrotter go beyond the silly slickness and parlor-trick moves. There's also the matter of showcasing charisma, a difficult thing to hone on the practice court. 'Skill is one thing, but to have it, like what Meadowlark Lemon had, what Curly Neal had? That's not taught,' said Harold 'Lefty' Williams, a former Globetrotter. 'That's God-given. The Creator gives you that. Very few people have it.' Advertisement Does Stephen Curry of the Golden State Warriors have it? 'Absolutely, without a doubt,' Williams said. 'He would be a 2025 Curly Neal,' added Charles 'Choo' Smith, another former Globetrotter. 'He's probably one of the top players I would consider as far as potential to be a Globetrotter,' said Herbert 'Flight Time' Lang, a third former Globetrotter. Curry has partial Globetrotters experience on his résumé, spending time with them during a practice in 2018, though he four-time NBA champion and two-time league MVP stayed with his day job. The Golden State Warriors have Curry locked up through the 2026-27 season, with a $62.6 million contract that puts him a tad out of the Globetrotters' price range. Sunday's NBA All-Star Game, played this year on Curry's home court, Chase Center, most likely will be as close as fans will ever get to seeing what he would do against the hapless Washington Generals. GO DEEPER Who are the Washington Generals? The Harlem Globetrotters' archrival, and much more With the loosey-goosey All-Star defense — even with the new game format — and a spirit of showmanship, Curry tends to dig a little deeper into his bag of wonders during these exhibition games. Across town from Chase Center, members of the National Basketball Retired Players Association gathered in a hotel ballroom for their annual media day. With several former Globetrotters in attendance, we asked three of them to analyze how Curry's game sits at the intersection of skill level and entertainment value. Cue up 'Sweet Georgia Brown,' and listen in. They're called the Globetrotters for a reason. They remain a popular attraction all over the planet, and there is some international diplomacy at stake with every tipoff. 'With the Globetrotters, we're ambassadors of goodwill,' Smith said. 'We put smiles on people's faces, and your personality has to be impeccable as it relates to engaging people. Steph is the prototypical person who does that. He smiles. He has fun. He enjoys the game. He loves people.' Steph Curry with an insane full-court shot from the tunnel! 🎥 @ — The Athletic (@TheAthletic) February 15, 2024 Curry also happens to come with a ready-made stage name — 'The Baby-Faced Assassin' — and offers a skill set that Smith compared to those of two memorable Globetrotters, Marcus Haynes and Larry 'Gator' Rivers. 'God bless his soul, Gator is probably one of the best ballhandlers that ever lived,' Smith said. Advertisement Curry is not alone. Smith's list of other NBA players over the years who would have fit with the Globetrotters includes Muggsy Bogues, Rod Strickland, Tim Hardaway, Kyrie Irving, Damian Lillard and Vince Carter. Curry, though, probably would be the top pick in the first round, should the Globetrotters ever get to select in an NBA dispersal draft. 'He creates an entertainment value with his talent and his gifts,' Smith said, 'and he includes the whole family experience when you come to a game: the 3s, getting the crowd involved and doing some type of trick play. 'He handles the ball well. He can shoot from deep. You know, we used to practice those shots. He can do 'em naturally off a jump shot.' Smith credited Curry's upbringing as the son of longtime NBA player Dell Curry. He reasoned that being around the culture for so long taught him how to blend fun with professionalism. 'You can't teach that. It has to be in you, and then you have to be around others who exude that,' Smith said. 'Growing up with his dad, he's been around so many different personalities. He's learned what to do, what not to do. And then, (there was) the discipline that his father had as far as the fundamentals. Now he can add the flair because he's mastered those fundamentals.' One of Williams' coaches and influences was the legendary Charles 'Tex' Harrison, a colorful character who played and coached for the Globetrotters for six decades. Harrison had a favorite saying. 'He used to say, 'I can do more things with a basketball than a monkey can with a peanut,'' Williams recalled. 'And that's the truth.' The quote came to mind as Williams discussed Curry's game, which overflows with creativity even at age 36. 'Greatest shooter I've ever seen,' Williams said. 'But being a Globetrotter myself, it's all about the show and entertainment. Steph is definitely a show within himself, from ballhandling to tricks to the shots. With his playmaking ability, is there anything he can't do?' Advertisement 'For someone who 'ruined the game,' gosh, if that's ruining the game, then put me in that class.' Williams, like the many Warriors fans who arrive early to Chase Center, knows Curry's pregame routine might be the most enthralling part of the night. That includes shots from a distant tunnel and what Williams calls 'bowling ball shots' — launching the ball underhanded like a bowler unleashing a Brunswick with a flourish. 'That's one that I used to do, which is pretty cool,' Williams said. Steph Curry trick shot season coming 🔜 — Golden State Warriors (@warriors) September 19, 2024 Williams is the first left-handed showman in Harlem Globetrotters history. Before his debut in 2007, all of the trick plays were designed for righties. The New Jersey native said the key to captivating fans is to make the gimmicks look effortless, which involves endless hours of painstaking discipline. 'It's more mathematical when it comes to trick shots from the half court,' Williams said. 'It's about lining your leg up properly with the front of the rim.' His favorite Curry trick? Williams cited the now-11-time All-Star's trademark personal touch whenever he delivers in the clutch. 'His on-court persona is second to none,' Williams said. 'Especially in closeout games, everyone wants to see him make the 3 and then do the 'Night Night.' When he does that, to us Globetrotters, it just comes back to Steph and his greatness.' Steph's NIGHT-NIGHT resume continues to grow 💤 — NBA (@NBA) November 13, 2024 Back in 2017, the Globetrotters implemented the 4-point shot, raising the ante on long-range shooting by moving back points value to 35 feet. It's a wonder Curry didn't sign with the Globetrotters on the spot. 'Steph Curry, he changed the game with the way he would shoot the ball from pretty much anywhere on the court,' Lang said. 'Those are the shots we used to get in trouble for back in the day. I think it's great. Advertisement 'You see it now like it's a regular shot. I like to think that the Globetrotters were part of the evolution of a lot of things in basketball, even with the way you see guys like Victor Wembanyama, pulling up from 35, 40 feet. You see LeBron James pulling up from the Lakers logo at half court without the coaches even getting mad.' CURRY FROM THE LOGO 😱 — Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) January 14, 2025 Lang's mentors include legends like Neal, 'Sweet' Lou Dunbar and his first coach, Hubert 'Geese' Ausbie. But Lang knows showmanship beyond the court, too. He's participated in three seasons of 'The Amazing Race' with a fellow Globetrotter, Nate 'Big Easy' Lofton. Lang's also been on 'Are You Smarter than a 5th Grader?' during celebrity week. Lang's brush with the entertainment industry gives him some insight into audiences, which is why he said other NBA players who might make the best Globetrotters include slick ballhandler Kyrie Irving, the famously flashy Magic Johnson … and an unlikely choice. 'Probably the personality — not for the antics, but for the entertainment phase — is Dennis Rodman,' Lang said. 'He probably would have been a great Globetrotter because of the way he interacted with the crowd.' Still, the A-lister remains Curry. 'It's about the behind-the-back pass. It's about doing the little bit of shimmy. It's about the connection with the crowd, the audience,' Lang said. 'The high-fives and things like that are probably things you didn't see quite as much about 10 or 15 years ago in the game. 'I love it. You have to look at the court as a stage that you get to perform on. When you're on stage, you put on a show.' (Top photo of Steph Curry: Kavin Mistry / Getty Images)
New York Times
14-02-2025
- Sport
- New York Times
Remembering Wilt Chamberlain's 1 year with the Globetrotters: A ‘childhood dream'
Sonny Hill recalls a time when he and his childhood friend, Wilt Chamberlain, would go to the movies to watch newsreels where the Harlem Globetrotters often appeared. Seeing players like Reece 'Goose' Tatum and Marques Haynes, two of the franchise's top showmen during that time, resonated with Chamberlain and sparked an ambition. Advertisement The Globetrotters' mission of breaking down racial barriers and stereotypes grabbed Chamberlain's attention. But the concept of entertainment was something that stuck with Chamberlain until he died on Oct. 12, 1999. Chamberlain played 14 seasons in the NBA, but the one season before he became a face of the league, he was a face of the Globetrotters. 'Playing with the Globetrotters was Wilt's childhood dream,' Hill, a Philadelphia Sports Hall of Famer and current sports radio personality, told The Athletic, 'and he was able to fulfill it.' Chamberlain did not have the lengthy tenure other Globetrotters had. He played the one full season, 1958-59, and sparingly during some NBA offseasons and post-retirement. But Chamberlain didn't need much time to set a bar for the future of both the Globetrotters and the NBA, becoming a basketball and societal icon who bridged two entities. 'When Wilt and I grew up together, the Globetrotters were the team that we wanted to identify with,' Hill said. 'So, upon seeing them, when he got older, he wanted to play for the Globetrotters. 'I think it was the roots,' Chamberlain said in an interview on 'MSG's Vault' in 2012. 'The days with the Harlem Globetrotters were some of the most pleasant ones of my life. A post shared by Harlem Globetrotters (@harlemglobetrotters) Remembered by many for his 100-point scoring outing against the New York Knicks in Hershey, Pa., in 1962, Chamberlain led the NBA in scoring for seven consecutive seasons and was the NBA rebounding leader for 11 of his 14 seasons. He also won two league championships and was a four-time league MVP. Chamberlain is one of the game's most dominant athletes of all time, but his stint with the Globetrotters was an opportunity to showcase his skills as an entertainer. He began his professional career with the Globetrotters in 1958 as part of a sold-out world tour in Moscow following his collegiate career at the University of Kansas. He spent three years in Lawrence, Kan., intertwining basketball with a coveted track and field career. In addition to averaging 29.6 points and 18.9 rebounds per game on the court, he also was a three-time Big Eight Conference champion in the high jump. Advertisement The Globetrotters gave Chamberlain a chance to become even more of a versatile individual once he left Kansas. The Globetrotters perform their famous Magic Circle as a warmup to the tune of 'Sweet Georgia Brown' before every game. Chamberlain fit in well and honed his art of showmanship by participating in one of the Globetrotters' most important routines as a rookie. 'When I say he was in that circle … you can't be in that circle and not be able to (perform),' Hill said. 'That's how good he was. That's how agile he was, how knowledgeable he was. That's how quick he could learn what was going on.' Hill also noted that the franchise assisted with Chamberlain the basketball player thinking outside of the box. A 7-foot-1, 275-pounder was expected to play center in those days. The Globetrotters, however, had other ideas. 'With the Globetrotters, he didn't play inside,' Hill said. 'He played mostly on the outside.' Abe Saperstein, founder and owner of the Globetrotters, was known as a masterful promoter with a business-savvy mind built for sports entertainment. He saw the immediate potential that Chamberlain could bring to the team. Adding the dominant 7-footer was considered a financial risk to some, but Saperstein paid a substantial amount in the $50,000 range for Chamberlain to wear a Globetrotters uniform, according to Hill. The average median income of families in 1958 was $5,100. 'Abe Saperstein saw the opportunity for Wilt to be with the Globetrotters and for them to make even more money, because Wilt had been seen as this phenomenal basketball player since he was in high school,' Hill said. A post shared by 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐕𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐠𝐞 𝐇𝐚𝐰𝐤𝐬 (@thevintagehawks) The NBA didn't integrate until 1950, when Earl Lloyd, Chuck Cooper and Nat 'Sweetwater' Clifton made history. The league grappled with increasing its favorability. Chamberlain's popularity coming out of college naturally sparked conversation for the Globetrotters. He was a hit on and off the court. In addition to being a must-watch player, he also had matured into a must-watch television sensation, making regular appearances on 'The Ed Sullivan Show.' Advertisement 'He would talk about how phenomenal he was as a basketball player (on the show),' Hill said. 'He had developed to the point that people knew who he was, and he was somebody that people wanted to identify with.' The Globetrotters already had won over millions of fans by popularizing the slam dunk, fast break and their legendary in-game weave, but the franchise's fan base, now consisting of more than 148 million people in 123 countries and territories, saw an uptick then when the 7-footer wore the uniform. Chamberlain played alongside legends like Meadowlark Lemon and Charles 'Tex' Harrison, and he helped pave the way for a few future legends, including Louis 'Sweet Lou' Dunbar, Fred 'Curly' Neal and Hubert 'Geese' Ausbie. Meadowlark Lemon on Wilt Chamberlain's shoulders during a Harlem Globetrotters game.#HarlemGlobetrotters — Bubble Gum Comics (@VinSportsNutz) July 28, 2023 Chamberlain's one successful year with the Globetrotters turned the heads of NBA executives, making way for Eddie Gottlieb of the Philadelphia Warriors to draft him in 1959. 'When Wilt came into the league, Wilt actually built the NBA,' Hill said. 'The foundation of the NBA was really built off Wilt. The ratings went up, the fan base went up, the coverage went up, the notoriety went up. Everything went up because people knew who Wilt Chamberlain was, and that gave the NBA an international person that people could identify with.' But even after making his NBA debut, Chamberlain stayed true to his roots, playing for the Globetrotters in summers during their European tours. He was an unstoppable force in the NBA, but the daily grind was exhausting. Chamberlain playing with the Globetrotters during the offseason reminded him of how to enjoy a game that didn't feel like work. 'Wilt set the precedent,' said Dunbar, the team's director of player personnel and coach who played with the franchise 27 seasons and has been affiliated with the team in some capacity for 48 years. 'Guys could have played anywhere in the world, but Wilt said those were the best years of his life, playing with the Harlem Globetrotters, because that becomes your family. 'He did go to the league and set all those records, but Wilt was a dominating factor (with the Globetrotters).' Dunbar thought so highly of Chamberlain that he chose No. 13 as his jersey number in junior high school. He said he 'thought Wilt could do no wrong' when he first started watching the game. As a 6-foot-9 big, Dunbar modeled his game after Chamberlain's. It resulted in Dunbar having a decorated career at the University of Houston, where he became an All-American and later was inducted into the University of Houston Athletics Hall of Honor in 2008. Dunbar also was a fourth-round NBA Draft pick of the Philadelphia 76ers in 1975. Advertisement 'I wasn't as tall as Wilt, but growing up, I was the tallest kid around, so (Chamberlain's game) etched my mind,' Dunbar said. 'Wilt was strong. He was just a true athlete. I loved to see the man play. 'I watched him when he was in Philadelphia, and I watched him when he went to the Lakers. I watched him all the way until he quit playing the game.' Dunbar still remembers the first time he met Chamberlain. The two, along with Harrison, met in Hawaii. Although a majority of Chamberlain's time was spent catching up with Harrison, who was Chamberlain's roommate with the Globetrotters, Dunbar was in awe of Chamberlain's presence, calling it an 'absolute honor' to meet the Hall of Famer. 'Tex used to talk about him all the time, about how (Chamberlain) could do everything,' Dunbar said. Wilt Chamberlain of the Harlem Globetrotters. — Paul Knepper (@paulieknep) October 29, 2023 Chamberlain's basketball resume will lead with all of his NBA accomplishments, but stepping away from the league to work with the Globetrotters gave Chamberlain a certain freedom of expression. His No. 13 Globetrotters jersey was retired on March 9, 2000, at his high school in Philadelphia. The storied college career and multiple pro accolades, however, played just a small part of who Chamberlain was. He really was about the fun nature of the game. And that fun was enhanced and supported by the Globetrotters. Hill said the Globetrotters made Chamberlain feel comfortable, similar to that young boy who used to watch the Globetrotters on newsreels. 'Wilt's feeling was that he was free. He could just be himself,' Hill said. 'He could inclusive to what the Globetrotters were known for. The entertainment, the ballhandling, that all made him feel free.' (Illustration: Kelsea Petersen / The Athletic; photos: TPLP / Getty Images)
New York Times
10-02-2025
- Entertainment
- New York Times
The Harlem Globetrotters: 99 years of basketball, variety and ‘Showtime'
In one person's era, the Harlem Globetrotters are basketball titans, entertainers who have graced courts and millions of fans from sea to sea. Throw a dart at a global map, and there's a chance they've performed either in or surrounding that city. During another person's generation, the Globetrotters teamed with a group of four teenage detectives and a dog named Scooby-Doo who rolled around in an iconic 1960s van solving multiple cartoon mysteries. The Globetrotters even briefly had their own animated show. Advertisement For someone else perhaps a little more conscious, the Globetrotters were community-empowered difference-makers first and Hall of Fame hoops stars second, primarily because of their strong passion for philanthropy. Using basketball to 'spread goodwill worldwide' is a part of the verbiage in their commitment to social responsibility initiative. For 99 years, a bridge tying the Globetrotters only to basketball has traveled far beyond the optics. They are actors and comedians. They are health and wellness advocates. They are socially astute individuals who don't mind letting their voices be heard. They are, as their nickname supports, 'ambassadors of goodwill.' It just so happens that they also are incredibly talented basketball players, athletes who can tell stories with a trick shot, a specific dribble, a monster dunk or a full-court pass that many others can't. Visionaries who jump-started much of what we see today on the basketball court. 'Remember when Magic (Johnson) and those guys came to L.A. and started playing? They started calling it 'Showtime,'' Louis 'Sweet Lou' Dunbar, a 27-year Globetrotters veteran who now serves as the organization's director of player personnel and a coach, told The Athletic. 'It's always been 'Showtime' for the Harlem Globetrotters.' So many elements of the sport can be traced back to a franchise with a versatile reputation. Since 1926, Globetrotters' exhibition games have consisted of playful fouls, comedic skits and creative passes and shots, not to forget the legendary three-man weave to the whistling rendition of 'Sweet Georgia Brown' by Brother Bones & His Shadows. Present-day fans witness entertaining halftime dunk contests, 4-point shots and alley-oops from nearly anywhere on the court. A post shared by Harlem Globetrotters (@harlemglobetrotters) During segregation, the game's path to integration was paved by the Globetrotters pushing the envelope with lopsided scores and a knack for finding the best talent to either recruit or oppose when barnstorming was the status quo. Additionally, the game was decades away from globalizing and its current state of relying on commissioners, players unions and collective bargaining agreements for more inclusive endeavors. Advertisement Dr. James Naismith invented basketball in 1891 in Springfield, Mass. Seven years later, the National Basketball League tipped off as the world's first pro hoops league. The Globetrotters weren't founded until 35 years after the game's inception, and they were known as the Savoy Big Five, a team made up of players from Chicago's Wendell Phillips High School: Walter 'Toots' Wright, Byron 'Fat' Long, Andy Washington, William 'Kid' Oliver and Albert 'Runt' Pullins. The Savoy Big Five played exhibition games at the Savoy Ballroom to boost attendance for the largest dance hall in Chicago's South Side. Abe Saperstein, a North Side Chicago businessman whose sports career started with a job as a booking agent, later made a crucial pivot. He took over the team and renamed it the New York Harlem Globetrotters to brand around the team's racial makeup — even though none of the players were from New York. The rebrand was to entice curious fans outside of Chicago who assumed the team hailed from the then-perceived mecca of Black culture. To tour the country, Saperstein leaned on family for additional fine-tuning in establishing an identity for a team that would compete in towns where most of the fans were White. 'My grandfather had to find new uniforms and went to my great-grandfather, who was a tailor,' Abra Saperstein, Abe's granddaughter, told The Athletic. 'He wanted to wrap the players up in the American flag … and the Globetrotters were born.' Before competing in more than 27,000 games, appearing in 124 countries and territories and engaging nearly 150 million fans, the Globetrotters played their first official road game in Hinckley, Ill., roughly 55 miles west of Chicago, on Jan. 7, 1927. Early opponents ranged from lumberjacks in Woodfibre, British Columbia, to farmers in Wheatland, Iowa, as the team sought as many matchups as possible to make ends meet. Advertisement The Globetrotters not only pushed barriers of integration but also dazzled crowds by lighting up scoreboards. The Globetrotters since have made societal strides by using an on-court dominance helping to set a distinct tone. Their all-time win percentage of .987 — the highest of any professional franchise ever — goes beyond routinely winning entertaining exhibitions. 'There were White kids who are impacted by the Globetrotters because they're seeing someone who doesn't look like them. And maybe, whatever expectation they had of that person was changed, right?' said Keith Dawkins, president of the Globetrotters and Herschend Entertainment Studios. 'It's a village that takes to get where we are today. The Globetrotters are part of the fabric of that history — not just for sport, not just for basketball, but for how they shaped, reshaped and reimagined the way people look at athletes and athletes of color.' While it's easy to dismiss the Globetrotters as an entertainment spectacle, their on-court antics are byproducts of keeping fans in their seats despite a game's given score being well out of reach. They'd already notched more than 1,000 wins at a rate of better than 90 percent by 1934, but not every spectator was well-suited to enjoy Black players dominating their craft. Saperstein and his team managed to find ways to further push the sport. Inman Jackson, a 15-year Globetrotters veteran (1930-45) was noted in a 1973 Jet magazine as 'basketball's first outstanding big man.' During his stint with the team, the 6-foot-4 center began applying on-court trickery by either rolling the ball through an unaware opponent's legs or drop-kicking buckets from the free-throw line. Those moves eventually brought about the savvy stylings of Reece 'Goose' Tatum, Meadowlark Lemon, Fred 'Curly' Neal and Marques Haynes, who helped pioneer any conversations about basketball's best ballhandlers and showmen of the modern era. 'We didn't just get here in 2015,' Dawkins said. 'Throughout the fabric and sector of our society globally, the Globetrotters are one of those handful of things of being outstanding and otherworldly awesome.' The Globetrotters have retired eight jersey numbers in its 99-year history. The iconic Wilt Chamberlain, who wore No. 13, was the first Globetrotter to have his jersey retired in March 2000. He was so impactful that he had his jersey retired despite playing only one season with the franchise. Lemon, arguably the most recognized Globetrotter of all time, and Haynes, a dribbling machine, had their No. 36 and No. 20 jerseys, respectively, retired in January 2001. Tatum, who played 11 years with the Globetrotters, had his No. 50 retired in February 2002. Neal, known for his clean-shaven head and for being the ultimate showman as a dribbler and long-range shooter, had his No. 22 retired in February 2008. What better way to celebrate #NationalBasketballDay than to share some Meadowlark Lemon highlights? 🏀 During 24 seasons as the "Clown Prince" of the #HarlemGlobetrotters, he played in more than 7,500 consecutive games in nearly 100 countries around the world! 🌎 #BasketballDay — Harlem Globetrotters (@Globies) November 6, 2019 Tatum, a former star on the court and a coach, had his No. 35 jersey retired in January 2017. Eleven months later in December, Charles 'Tex' Harrison, a cat-quick guard who was an equally good rebounder as he was a dribbler, had his No. 34 retired. The most recent player to have his jersey retired, in February 2019, was Dunbar, a popular showman and big man with guard skills who wore No. 41. Advertisement Haynes and Tatum were with the Globetrotters when the World Professional Basketball Tournament, an invitational held in Chicago, took place from 1939 to 1948. Most of the teams entered then came from the newest rendition of the National Basketball League (NBL), which ultimately merged with the Basketball Association of America (BAA) to form today's NBA. But the invitational also featured well-known independent franchises, such as the Globetrotters and the New York Renaissance. GO DEEPER True Renaissance: How a pioneer's underrated dynasty reshaped pro hoops During the inaugural tournament in 1939, the Globetrotters lost to the eventual champion Renaissance, pitting two all-Black teams competing in a semifinal. The Globetrotters, however, won the 1940 tournament, further legitimizing their standard. In 1948, the team faced the Minneapolis Lakers — led by basketball great George Mikan — at Chicago Stadium. By the time Saperstein and colleague Max Winter, the Lakers' general manager, set up the contest, the Globetrotters entered with a 103-game winning streak. The Lakers led 32-23 by halftime thanks to 18 first-half points from Mikan. But by the game's end, the tables turned. Mikan grew frustrated with being double-teamed and was held to six points in the second half. Meanwhile, the Globetrotters worked their way back to keep it close throughout the second half. A long-distance Ermer Robinson bucket before the final buzzer gave the Globetrotters a 61-59 victory over the Lakers. Lakers George Mikan getting a rebound between Sweetwater Clifton & Babe Pressley of the Globetrotters. Game was played Feb 19th 1948 in front of 17,823 at Chicago Stadium. Largest attendance to see a basketball game to that date. — Michael Harvey (@kennewickmike) March 24, 2024 It was a win that came with skepticism. 'Everybody felt like the game was a fluke,' Globetrotters point guard Lucius 'Too Tall' Winston said. 'So they said, 'OK, we'll put the same game on in 1949.' They televised it, (it) went to overtime, beat them again.' By 1950, two former Globetrotters made history in the NBA. Chuck Cooper was the first Black player drafted — selected No. 13 by the Boston Celtics. Nat 'Sweetwater' Clifton was the first Black player to sign an NBA contract. Even a 22-year-old Chamberlain enjoyed a cup of coffee with the Globetrotters during the 1958-59 season before decorating his NBA Hall of Fame resume with four MVPs, two league titles and seemingly every record imaginable over stints with the Philadelphia/San Francisco Warriors, the Philadelphia 76ers and the L.A. Lakers across 14 seasons. Advertisement But as the NBA's popularity grew, the Globetrotters maintained theirs by balancing on-court impact with big-picture thinking. They signed four-time All-American and Olympic gold medalist Lynette Woodard in October 1985, who became the first woman to play for the Globetrotters — and any professional men's team. 'When Lynette broke that gender barrier in 1985, that was historic — to open up that window to allow women to play on a male-dominated team,' Globetrotters guard Cherelle 'Torch' George said. 'Even aside from the gender barrier, there was the color barrier. The Globetrotters were the first to open that window for African-American people to compete and travel the world. It's special.' Throughout their esteemed history, the Globetrotters have multiple accomplishments on and off the basketball court, but their duality is what makes them an unmatched connector to ample hoops and societal history. Without their early dominance, there is a limited cache to host one of the largest-ever basketball crowds at Berlin's Olympic Stadium in 1951 (75,000) — after which the U.S. State Department deemed the franchise 'ambassadors of extraordinary goodwill.' Nowadays, it's almost impossible to hear 'Sweet Georgia Brown' without thinking about the team. Over the years, the franchise has made honorable Globetrotters out of famous personalities like Magic Johnson, Nelson Mandela, Bob Hope and Whoopi Goldberg. During the 1970s, the Globetrotters had an animated series and a live-action variety show, both of which aired on Saturdays. And they've recently enjoyed a return to TV as their Emmy-nominated series 'Harlem Globetrotters: Play It Forward' is currently in its third season. A post shared by Justin Ronné (@jamixx08) Today, the Globetrotters continue to promote inclusion with their knack for inducing widespread laughter and astounded stares. Their enduring desire and creative vision routinely contribute to basketball's growth and society's betterment. It helps that the team happens to be really good at basketball — something that hasn't changed for 99 years. 'We're the originators of basketball, and I think people need to know that,' George said. 'That flash, showmanship … all that stuff starts with the Globetrotters. People think as Globetrotters not as basketball players, but we're basketball players first; entertainment comes second.' (Illustration: Kelsea Petersen / The Athletic; photos: NurPhoto and Bettman / Getty Images)
