Kenny Graham's West 4th Street BBall Torunament 2023 is Underway

by Warren Rosenberg and Patrick J. Cherilus, MetroSports Magazine - May 29, 2023

Memorial Day Weekend, NYC.

The U.S. Navy Fleet is in for Fleet Week and sailors can be seen throughout the City. The U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds take flight over Nearby Jones Beach. The U.S. Army celebrates graduation at West Point north of the City. And the 45th season of the Urban Streetball classic, Kenny Graham’s West 4th Street High School Pro-Am Basketball Tournament tips off at ‘The Cage’ in NYC’s Greenwich Village.

Above: Opening day action in The Cage, 2023. Photo Credit: Patrick J. Cherilus

Founded in 1977 by Kenny Graham, the West 4th Street Tournament features men’s, women’s, high school boys, high school girls and pro-am contests as it winds its way through the summer months. What makes this NYC streetball tournament so special is its court, better known as The Cage.

Above: Sunday action in the Cage with spectators along the Sixth Avenue fence. Photo credit: Warren Rosenberg

The Cage, the preferred name for the NY City Parks Department West 4th Street basketball court, is unique in many ways and well-suited for the sharp-elbowed style of NYC streetball it has become known for. Surrounded on all sides by a 20 foot high chain-link fence and measuring only half the size of a regulation basketball court, The Cage facilitates a high-contact style of basketball. With only very limited seating inside, which by the way, is free for spectators, most of the fans watch from outside the fence, lining up on the sidewalk of Sixth Avenue, and watching the action through the fence. Stationed only feet from the action, the vocal fans are intimately involved in the game. So well known is The Cage that it is featured as one of the 12 basketball courts from around the world that gamers can play on in Volume 3 of the Electronic Arts video game, NBA Street.

Above: Fans enjoying the West 4th Street action within The Cage. Photo credit: Warren Rosenberg

Featured as one of NYC’s premier urban basketball tournaments along with the Entertainers Basketball Classic (see MetroSports Magazine’s Jul/Aug 2015 issue), Hoops in the Sun, Dyckman and others, Kenny Graham’s West 4th Street tournament has attracted its share of prominent visitors including the NY Knicks #1 fan, Spike Lee, Mt. Vernon’s Denzel Washington and NBA stars such as Stephon Marbury, Rod Strickland and Jayson Williams. According the NYC based sports photographer, Patrick Cherilus, Ken Graham has created an oasis where friend and family from all over the world can meet and enjoy a common passion called basketball.

Above: The men who make it happen. Photo credit: Patrick J. Cherilus,

Below: Photo Credit Warren Rosenberg

If you get the chance, stop by and catch some of the action. You won’t be disappointed.