What the D.C. Goodman League’s 135-134 win over the Los Angeles Drew League on Saturday at Trinity University really showed us is — NBA lockout or not — native city streetball is awesome. If a national league started tomorrow, these would be the best teams: 5. Seattle » What better way to get the basketball hotbed back in the action? Jamal Crawford and Jason Terry would start at guard, and with Nate Robinson and Brian Scalabrine on the roster, entertainment would be assured.
4. New York » Here’s where Carmelo Anthony’s upbringing — born in Brooklyn, he moved to Baltimore at age 8 — would make things interesting. He would have Joakim Noah, Lamar Odom and Ron Artest as teammates but a shortage at point guard.
3. Chicago » Instead of LeBron James, it would be Derrick Rose deferring to Dwyane Wade down the stretch. Instead of Chris Bosh filling out Miami’s Big Three, it would be Kevin Garnett. Not bad, not bad at all.
2. Los Angeles » The Drew League indeed represents, with Brandon Jennings, DeMar DeRozan and James Harden. Add in Russell Westbrook and perhaps Santa Monica-born Kevin Love? Tough to beat.
1. Washington, D.C. » Kevin Durant is the streetball king, and his generation of D.C. players, including Jeff Green, Ty Lawson and Roy Hibbert, is the strongest in years. At the very least, a D.C. team would always make the playoffs, and that’s more hope than the Wizards currently can say.
– Craig Stouffer
