-Where else can you sit courtside and watch pro-level basketball players for free?

On a cloudy afternoon, I had the privilege of watching Hezi God putting in work at Venice Beach.

When he's not breaking ankles, he's touring the world bringing his love for basketball with him from concrete courts to makeshift hoops.

-Basketball is one of those things you could just go grab your ball and own your skills there, own yourself, but it also provides, I guess, a sense of individuality.

I can only compare it to music.

My style is like my favorite rapper, which is Currency.

You can hear him feeling himself.

He bragging about his watch.

He's bragging about his jewels, the cars, and that's how I am when I'm playing basketball.

-Venice Beach, home of the famed Venice Boardwalk, Muscle Beach Gym, oceanfront skate parks, and generations of surfers who sought the ultimate break.

It's where a legendary band, The Doors, first met and created their sound, and where 1980s youth and street dancers nurtured early LA hip-hop.

-It's also home to some of the most incredible basketball in the world.

For decades, the Venice basketball courts have been a home to the who's who of basketball elite.

Come to Venice, and you never know who will show up.

-Key to building and sustaining Venice's culture of basketball is VBL, the Venice Basketball League.

Founded in 2006, VBL marshals the power of hoops and music to educate and uplift communities across Los Angeles and beyond.

Today, we're chatting with VBL founder Nick Ansom.

He's a lifelong hooper who's committed his life and work to using basketball to change lives.

-I'm so happy to be here with you.

You have a long history on these courts.

-I came as a kid from France.

I spoke no English.

Navigated my way around the courts trying to get on all the courts where I packed.

One of the OGs, Larry, told me, he's like, "You got to say who's got next if you want to play."

It's the words that got me on.

Basketball the love language, basketball, the universal language.

Where I grew up, I lived in a town that had no basketball courts outside of Paris.

The only courts that were available were above soccer goals.

Obviously, did not know the rules.

There was no basketball team.

There was no one talking about basketball.

No basketball on TV.

First thing I did, went to the newsstand.

There was a basketball magazine.

I'm scrolling, seeing the photos, Shaquille O'Neal, Michael Jordan.

I said, "Mama, I need a court."

We went to the store, bought a Chicago Bulls backboard.

That was just pure creativity from there.

When I was 16, I got recruited to come play in LA.

I landed and started playing all these private school teams.

I was averaging 40 points.

The newspaper led me to Fairfax.

Five All-Americans on my team.

We had NBA scouts on all of our games.

One of my father's friend was like, "Oh, your son loves basketball.

He should go to Venice Beach."

I was playing pickup games like, "Wow, we're playing by the beach.

This is so cool."

Wooden backboards, double rusty rims, games on every court.

Just played past sunset.

Then I came back the next day.

Then I spent the whole summer there.

I think I was there for 10 days.

The next two years, I lived in France.

All I was thinking of, "Got to go back to Venice.

Got to go back to LA.

After I got a taste of it, I just couldn't get enough.

Still can't get enough.

-That desire for more basketball pushed Nick to create the Venice Basketball League, organized teams where players could seek out the strongest competition, showcase their skills, and build a community around basketball.

What is the Venice Basketball League?

-It began as a community pickup game on the boardwalk, and then we turned it into a tournament called the Sunshine Ball Tournament.

That energy and the talent and the excitement, and enthusiasm led us to creating a league.

We call it the [?]

Hoops, where we come together religiously every Sunday and ball.

It is now a world-renowned basketball league with bona fide NBA players that play in it.

16 teams, a men's league, women's league, youth league, wheelchair showcases, a historical dunk contest.

We've hosted thousands of events on these courts.

Just a bunch of passionate ball players that never gave up.

Some people that have accolades that played Big Division 1, NBA, overseas, and some players that you never heard of that will make you think about them when you come home that night.

There was this golden era of streetball that was captivating across America.

These streetball games now are played in NBA arenas.

The first tournament that I throw, those same guys that I'm watching on TV, Sik Wit It, Bone Collector, Keith Claus, Doug Thomas, they're all playing in my tournament.

I don't know these guys.

I've seen them play on TV in the VHS mixtapes, and now they're here.

-Whenever I moved out to Los Angeles, I was a pro basketball player.

Basketball in the summertime is huge.

For basketball players, it's where you prepare for the next season.

This was one of the leagues that I joined to exercise and to get better at basketball, but also, streetball is a little bit of a different style of basketball, where you express yourself differently.

-It's a proving ground.

That's part of why you come here in the first place, because there's a lot more chill courts.

When you come to Venice, you've got to come ready to play.

Your calls are going to be challenged.

You're going to get punked a little bit.

Only the strong survive here.

-Basketball has a long and intertwined history with music, and this is even more true of streetball.

There's the musicality of the game itself, the rhythm, the beats, the percussiveness, the choreography, the vocal character of play-by-play announcers.

There's the way a pickup game mirrors the improvisation of a jazz combo, or how the showmanship of a baller's crossover reflects the spontaneity of a freestyle.

Much like live music, basketball is a creative and coordinated performance, and all of it requires collaboration.

Distinctive personality, cultural expression, and a shared effort working to create something greater.

-Basketball is an art form.

Basketball has a soul, and it's iconic.

Kobe played here.

Magic played here through the '80s and '90s.

Every Laker talked about music.

Snoop Dogg played in the EBC here.

Rappers want to be ballers, and ballers want to be rappers.

We understand each other.

As far as our league, that was part of the DNA.

At the time, I was like a DJ.

I would travel with my 1200s and a Vestax mixer in the back of my trunk, and then I would DJ Friday and Saturday, and on Sunday, just download, set up the turntables at half court, invite his DJ friends, and we're just going to throw a basketball party every Sunday.

-For me, you have a set play, and then you have improvisation.

That's one of the great things about jazz.

Whenever you can improv, go off, do your own thing.

Be that solo all-star, whatever, then you bring it back to the group, and then you find your synchronicity.

I would compare this, though, to a jam session.

There's a little bass rules, but it's everybody.

Y'all do your thing.

Just make it dope.

-Basketball is also closely connected to specific musical histories, particularly Black musical histories.

In the early 20th century, basketball games were often played in jazz ballrooms.

In the 1970s, with the emergence of hip-hop, streetball competitions held across New York City's public parks became elevated to mythological status.

-These streetball showcases drew professional and amateur athletes, featured competitions, and garnered the attention of major music figures like Jay-Z and Fat Joe.

In the 1990s and early 2000s, the AND1 Mixtape Tour brought streetball competitions to courts across the world.

-Venice has a unique relationship to this history.

As a place where different working-class communities have historically come together, Venice's culture has been captured in films like Roller Boogie, Lords of Dogtown, and, of course, White Men Can't Jump.

It's a space where in the early '80s, hip-hop artists and breakers came together to build community and share their skills.

-Countless artists like Iggy Pop, Suicidal Tendencies, the Red Hot Chili Peppers, and Henry Rollins have activated the sights and sounds of Venice.

Here, streetball legends like Ron Beals and Sik Wit It became fixtures on the court.

-With the Venice Basketball League, Nick is building upon this legacy.

He has a new vision for Venice basketball, and this one's mobile.

The Hoop Bus takes the VBL's community and competition around the world, bringing the game, life skills, and education to communities who might not otherwise have access.

-It's basketball for good.

It's basketball for change.

It's basketball for fun.

The first tour that we did was meet in Venice, right here.

Whoever bring the kids, bring the family.

We wanted to always share the love and be intentional about the privilege that we live in.

We started touring the city, and that touring the city caught momentum.

We started traveling to Mexico and to America for basketball tournaments.

Then we went to China and won big in China.

Then went to Japan, won big in Japan.

Then went to France and lost big in France.

We started traveling the world and exporting our style with unsigned players and beating bona fide pro teams.

-Alongside community events, a big part of the Hoop Bus's mission is also social impact.

Here in LA, during the 2020 uprisings and demonstrations after the murder of George Floyd, the Hoop Bus became a central meeting point for protesters to assemble and take up space.

-George Floyd passed.

I looked out my window.

I was looking right here.

Santa Monica was burning.

The bus was parked right there.

Went straight to the bus, straight into the flame.

Solo.

I didn't call nobody.

I was always like, "Bring basketball where it's needed most."

We like breaking barriers.

Offensive takes a shot, it's a brick, everybody start laughing.

There's laughter and light and joy that's being generated.

-Shout out to Nick because a big part of his motivation to spread in basketball is to spread love and unity through the game of basketball.

Hoop Bus University is a mentor program.

We just completed our second year.

We teach the kids life skills, we teach the kids fitness, we teach the kids health and wellness, even financial literacy.

All different types of things that help them become better people, better students.

-On these courts, this same court since I was little, it prepared me a lot for different aspects, not even just in basketball, but in general.

-I think at this point, the world has always been inspired.

It's a place that inspired me.

-Streetball in Venice Beach is more than a game.

It cultivates community while giving individuals a platform to be seen and understood, and with ideas like the Hoop Bus carrying that spirit beyond the blacktop, these values will continue to travel far beyond Southern California.

-Thanks for watching Outside the Lyrics.

-Make sure to like and subscribe if you want more stories about how different communities shape music and how music shapes them.