Each summer the Goodman League in Washington, D.C. hosts NBA stars and streetball legends as one of the most well-known summer leagues in the country. Across the United States in Los Angeles, the Drew League does virtually the same. From Kevin Durant and DeMarcus Cousins in D.C. to DeMar DeRozan and James Harden in L.A., the leagues have been the talk of the summer. So when Durant put on another show, but this time in the Drew League and not the Goodman League last month, he raised a question: Which league is better?
“Our fans want to see it because we want to beat them and have bragging rights,” says Mac Williams, webmaster of the Goodman League. “We want to be able to say we beat L.A., we beat California. And California wants to be able to say we came to D.C. and we kicked y’alls heads. It’s for the grassroots, down-earth, everyday rabid basketball, streetball, high school ball, college ball fan. This is a game that we’ve never had before. It’s a mega-game.”
“Our fans want to see it because we want to beat them and have bragging rights,” says Mac Williams, webmaster of the Goodman League. “We want to be able to say we beat L.A., we beat California. And California wants to be able to say we came to D.C. and we kicked y’alls heads. It’s for the grassroots, down-earth, everyday rabid basketball, streetball, high school ball, college ball fan. This is a game that we’ve never had before. It’s a mega-game.”
On August 20, the basketball world is set to find out which league is better. It’ll be the Goodman League vs. the Drew League. East Coast vs. West Coast. D.C. vs. L.A. And the name of possibly the most anticipated matchup of the summer? Capital Punishment. The game will be played at 6:30 p.m. at D.C.’s Coolidge High School and will feature a mixture of NBA and non-NBA players.
Players on the Goodman side will include Durant, Cousins, John Wall, Ty Lawson, Gary Neal, Tyreke Evans, Michael Beasley, Josh Selby, Sam Young, Donte Greene, Hugh “Baby Shaq” Jones, Emanuel “Duce” Jones, and Warren “D-Nice” Jefferson. For the Drew: Harden, DeRozan, Nick Young, Dorell Wright, Brandon Jennings, JaVale McGee, Craig Smith, Pooh Jeter, Bobby Brown, Marcus Williams, and three players yet to be named.
Players on the Goodman side will include Durant, Cousins, John Wall, Ty Lawson, Gary Neal, Tyreke Evans, Michael Beasley, Josh Selby, Sam Young, Donte Greene, Hugh “Baby Shaq” Jones, Emanuel “Duce” Jones, and Warren “D-Nice” Jefferson. For the Drew: Harden, DeRozan, Nick Young, Dorell Wright, Brandon Jennings, JaVale McGee, Craig Smith, Pooh Jeter, Bobby Brown, Marcus Williams, and three players yet to be named.
ESPN is interested in televising the game, and Baron Davis is likely to coach and potentially play for the Drew League, says Smiley. It will be streamed on TheBasketballChannel.net, but you can pay $25 to watch it live.
The Goodman All-Stars seem like a deeper team but this is street ball so who knows.
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