Inside the Cage: The Mighty Basketball Courts of West 4th Street
“We don’t Ball—We Battle.”
That’s the slogan of the West 4th Street League, which has ruled the small yet mighty basketball courts at West 4th and 6th Avenue since 1977. About half of the regulation size, these courts are a challenge for the most skilled amateur basketball players in the city. Players are pitted against each other in a tight space bounded by a chain-link fence, forcing them to make decisions quickly. Easy layups and trick shots are hard to come by during a West 4th Street game; defense is much more physical than traditional basketball, so less assertive shooters can’t rely on drawing a foul. This is why the West 4th Street basketball courts earned their famous moniker ‘The Cage.’
It’s almost impossible not to stop and watch a game at West 4th Street. While players are known for their aggression here, it’s an aggression borne of passion and intensity, of a desire to compete at the highest level. And many have—former NBA players like Stephon Marbury and Rod Strickland got their start playing at West 4th Street. In an interview with All the Smoke, Strickland credited NYC street basketball for producing some of the toughest and most exciting point guards in the game, including Marbury.
Why are the courts at The Cage so small? In Greenwich Village, contemporary life takes place over layers of unusually-shaped blocks that meet at odd angles, finding a way to thrive between modern urban development and centuries-old organic expansion. Sixth Avenue used to end around what is now West 3rd Street. In the 1920s, the city began an expansion plan that extended the Avenue all the way to Canal Street. The remaining non-rectangular plots of land that once marked the end of the avenue were designated to the Parks department in 1934. For the next twenty years, the land remained a somewhat unremarkable neighborhood playground.
Although official records of the park’s history are sparse, it is believed that basketball hoops were first installed in the 1950s. Around this time there was an attempt to expand the park that was not approved, which meant that the courts remained at their current size. The park’s convenient location right next to the West 4th and Christopher Street stations meant that word spread quickly about a unique little court in Greenwich Village, drawing streetball players from all over the city.
This tradition continues today. The West 4th Street League, founded by Kenny Graham in 1977, includes teams from Brooklyn, Manhattan, Queens, and the Bronx. Every summer the league hosts the Kenny Graham’s Pro Classic tournament. The best players are often recruited for teams, but everyone else has to try out and prove their worth. The tournament includes men’s, women’s, high school boys’ and high school girls’ teams. Graham continues to oversee the tournament every year.
Another important figure at West 4th Street was James Worthy of Jamaica, Queens, the ‘Mayor’ of the West 4th Street courts. He was best known for announcing the games, bringing water for the players, and being a consistent and supportive presence in the streetball community. He sadly passed away in December of 2023.
All spectators are welcome at West 4th Street games (as long as they are willing to stand on the sidewalk and stay out of the way). Games begin in April and last through the summer. With more than 70 teams in the league, there’s plenty of action!