Nothing quite embraces or showcases the connection basketball has with the community — and the way the game opens doors for people from all walks of life — like the Summer Jam Festival, with the Streetball Championship to conclude this weekend in Melbourne.
Summer Jam has now been running for a decade having started with humble beginnings in Prahran, but it’s now taken off to the point where professional and semi-professional basketballers are clamouring to play from Australia, and international talents come down under to show their wares.
Not only do high-level established players want to play in a more fun and free-flowing basketball environment allowing them to show their full talents, but it also opens opportunities for those who might not have come through the traditional pathways.
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One of the great success stories of 2022 was the Binar team winning the event in Perth and several of those players earning NBL1 West contracts on the back of it.
Now earlier this month all you had to do was look at the teams playing in the finals in a hugely successful event in the heart of the Perth City. It was full of former NBL players, and current NBL1 stars highlighting the quality of the basketball.
Add in the support of major sponsors Foot Locker and Nike through the Jordan brand, and ambassadors like former NBL MVP and New York playground legend Corey ‘Homicide’ Williams and it’s easy to see why Summer Jam has become so successful.
The finals for 2023 will now take place in the home of Summer Jam at Prahran Gardens this Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
FILLING A VOID IN THE BEGINNING
Going back to 2012 and Summer Jam co-founders Eamon Larman-Ripon and Daniel Ella saw a need for the Australian basketball landscape to have a bit of a shake up, to become accessible to more sections of the community, and to have something more than just the inside of basketball venues.
Embracing Streetball became clear to be the way to do that and the event started at Prahran Park a decade ago now. In the past 10 years it has continued to grow and expand with annual events now in both Melbourne and Perth becoming hugely popular.
Over the past 10 years, more than 1000 players and over 300 creatives have taken part in Summer Jam. Not only have endless dunks been thrown down, shots blocks and three-pointers hit, but trophies and money has been won, and everyone taking part or attending has had a blast.
When Larman-Ripon came up with the idea of Summer Jam with Ella, they couldn’t have dreamed of how it would have grown over the next 10 years.
“I would say I’m proud of the way it continues to grow and it’s one of those things where you probably don’t realise the impact you’re having until a later date,” Larman-Ripon said.
“To think that we’ve been doing this for 10 years, it doesn’t feel like it and just based off the success of everyone else’s successes, that’s what drives this.
“I think when we first started this there was a void, but just knowing we’ve provided a platform for everyone to excel and to go onto their own success on or off the court has been a driving factor to why this thing has grown.
“I’m super happy for everyone else that has been a part of it and seen this thing blossom into what is now only still beginning a lot of us feel. The growth of basketball on the back of what we’ve been doing is just testament to how big of a home the sport has in Australia.
“This is just something that should have been there and for us to be the catalyst is a bit surprising, but at the same time we’re super happy with this wave that we’re currently riding, or even creating. Gaining that recognition now is super cool but this is still day one for us.”
PROVIDING OPPORTUNITIES FOR HOST OF PLAYERS
The great attraction for those playing at Summer Jam whether it’s in the 5×5 or 3×3 games is the chance to play in a less structured environment with less plays called, fewer whistles blown and where individual talent is encouraged to be shown and flourish.
For Larman-Ripon, that’s a big part of what makes Summer Jam so popular for players of all walks of life, and experience levels and from any backgrounds because there’s no barriers to taking part.
“Just knowing that you can go out to a court like that and whether you have a coach or not, it’s a different style of playing,” he said.
“Some blokes have never got that opportunity to play within a system that might have helped them elevate to the NBL or NBA level, and there is a lot of guys who still have talent that could be worthy of it.
“Summer Jam gives them the opportunity to showcase that and it’s the outsiders who might just not have been in system. That’s a really cool thing to see because I think some of the pros who might go out there, they want to hold their own but it’s not a walk in the park for them.
“They still really have to compete and that creates a different level of respect for the game and what it’s doing,” Larman-Ripon added.
“I’m really happy to see that we’re sort of on that level now where we’re gaining recognition as well through these amazing partners where they want to be part of us. That helps you get the eyes of the pros and having Foot Locker and Nike on board gives us that credibility and recognition.
“We attract some pros, but we also provide a platform for players who might have missed their shot in the normal pathways but we’ve got guys who have been playing with us for 10 years.
“They are still out there killing it and giving people problem. I’m really happy that this has become a platform that is now being recognised and it’s cool to see.”
FREEDOM TO SHOW TALENTS OUT ON THE COURT
The last two events in Perth in 2022 and then just earlier this month highlight the quality of players who want to take part in Summer Jam, and the opportunities it creates.
Going back to 2022 and Indigenous team Binar Sports ended up taking out the title. On the back of that, several players earned NBL1 West contracts for the 2022 season including last year’s MVP Terrence ‘TK’ Kelly with the East Perth Eagles.
Now fast forward to 2023 with the event held in the heart of Perth City and the winning team featuring former NBL and current NBL1 West stars like Kyle Armour, Damien Scott, Julian Pesava and Marshall Nelson.
Even the Men’s Red Bull Halfcourt winners featured NBL1 West championship winners from the powerhouse Perry Lakes Hawks, Ben Purser, Rob Cassir, Ryan Smith and Josh Garlepp.
There’s so much about the basketball played at Summer Jam that makes it so attractive.
“It’s such a fun, free-flowing format of basketball and not having a coach sometimes allows for that freedom to just go out and play,” Larman-Ripon said.
“One of the success stories that came out of the first year we went to Perth was team Binar, which is the Indigenous team. Prior to the Summer Jam none of them were playing at an NBL1 level, but after they won that three of them all picked up NBL1 spots.
“That was testament to them getting out there and playing against those level of guys. It just brings the fun back to basketball as well because it’s that loose plus it’s outdoors. I know that if I was out there playing in my younger days, I would have loved it. It’s also super fun to watch, not just to play in.”
SUCCESS OF RECENT EVENT IN PERTH CITY
While Summer Jam was born in Melbourne and the home base will always be Prahran, the success was always going to be built on being able to expand.
With the popularity and success of the Perth Wildcats combined with the participation levels for basketball in Western Australia, Perth became an obvious choice and the last two years have been an outstanding success.
“It really was a moment of joy seeing the impact it had on WA. Just knowing that it’s a basketball crazy state and that’s the reason we chose Perth,” Larman-Ripon said.
“They have the best NBL franchise, we know that at junior level they play basketball more than they play footy, which is the same here in Victoria. So going to WA was a wise choice for us and just seeing its growth as well.
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“It doubled in attendance from last year to this year, and just seeing the connectivity as a community. There’s not a lot of times that you will get just all different walks of life coming together for one event.
“Everyone is represented and connecting for the right reasons, and that’s something we are very proud of. WA was awesome for that reason and the quality of basketball was incredible on top of it.”
CONNECTING WITH PROFESSIONAL BASKETBALL
The popularity of the NBA within Australia has grown leaps and bounds over the past decade just with greater accessibility to it. The NBL numbers are soaring too and so are the participation levels across the country.
That’s where an event like Summer Jam becomes so important because it provides the chance to bring basketball to all sections to the community and to make it available to everyone, and to tap into something similar to the old New York playground scene.
“The greatest thing about Australia is that we’re pretty forward in terms of our thinking when it comes to our growing with basketball,” Larman-Ripon said.
“It’s not stuck in old-school ways and Larry Kestelman has done a remarkable job in progressing growth in basketball and it just shows that the connections are there with something like what we’ve done.
“It took a long while for New York City to recognise that, but then they embraced and it’s such a famous basketball city not just because of the Knicks but because of streetball. Street culture is such an important piece of the game in New York and it developed through the 60s, 70s and 80s.
“To know that we are starting to connect now on a similar level, not quite at the same scale, it just shows that there is that forward thinking and progression to say that basketball can bring us all together no matter our backgrounds.
“We provide the platform to embrace that less structured and more showmanship type of basketball. We’ve also connected with some NBL players and seeing them come down on their own merit is quite powerful. It’s great to see faces who want to be there and want to be part of what we want to create.”
GETTING THAT CREDIBILITY OF STREET BALLERS
Corey ‘Homicide’ Williams not only became an MVP of the NBL at the Townsville Crocodiles and in a lot of ways has become the face of the league post his playing career, but prior to that he built his reputation on the playgrounds of New York City.
He has now become an ambassador for Summer Jam and gives it that instant extra credibility.
“Just like the credibility that having Foot Locker and the Jordan brand and Nike associated with us, having Corey ‘Homicide’ Williams come through and feel at home with us gives us that extra connection reminiscent with streetball,” Larman-Ripon said.
“He’s not the only expat or former professional to become involved either. D-Mac (Darryl McDonald) has always been involved from day one.
“Providing that space is almost like getting that Instagram blue tick when you have guys like that and wanting to be part of that. He has become a great friend of mine and I’m really happy to have him on this journey with us.
WHAT TO EXPECT FROM PRAHRAN THIS WEEKEND
The finals of Summer Jam for 2023 now take place this weekend at Princes Gardens, Prahran.
“If anyone wants to come down this weekend, we have plenty of basketball action. We’ve got 5×5 and 3×3,” Larman-Ripon said.
“The 5×5 on Friday will be full games and we’ve got a dunk contest, and plenty of activations and giveaways. Saturday will be running 3×3 games for the Red Bull Halfcourt where we will send a team from to the World Finals in Serbia, that’s men’s and women’s.
“We’ve also got a wheelchair game and just showing basketball is available to everybody out there. We’ve also got plenty of giveaways, I’ve got a pocket full of prizes I’m ready to give away.”
While there will be plenty of action on Friday and Saturday, things really heat up on Sunday with the finals to be held.
“Sunday is when it gets down to the dirty. It’s finals time and we’ve got an international dunk contest with some of the world’s best dunkers competing,” Larman-Ripon said.
“There was a lot of high quality basketball played in the finals last year and seeing Team Prahran taking home the cup was incredible for a lot of the locals. It was just about the biggest highlights of their lives so that was really satisfying for us as event organisers.”
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It’s about much more than the basketball though. The Prahran venue is going to have something for everything even if you aren’t on the court playing, or even that interested in watching too much. You won’t be short on things to eat, things to do or prizes to win.
“We’ll also have plenty else going on as well as the basketball. We’ll have food vendors from all over Prahran and Melbourne so come down and enjoy some wonderful food from local people,” Larman-Ripon said.
“We’ve got NBA2K activations, we’ve got a podcast/radio room, we’ve got a barber who will be cutting hair all weekend and more basketball action on the side. For those who like to come down and have a beer while watching the games, Pirate Life and Good Tides are supportive partners and will be providing beverages all weekend long.
“It’s all going to create an atmosphere pretty unique to Melbourne at the moment but we’re appreciative of all the support we’re getting. Friday and Saturday is a free event if you register online before, and Sunday is the main dance with tickets still just available but they are selling fast.”
