Greg Marius Court

Gregory Alexander Marius, born in Harlem on March 18, 1958, was a lifelong Harlem resident who founded the Entertainers Basketball Classic at Rucker Park in 1982 while he was a young rapper with the Disco Four. Initially organized as a tournament between rival hip-hop crews, the showcase connected basketball and hip-hop and built on Rucker Park’s history as a place where neighborhood talent could play sports celebrities. Marius invited basketball stars to the weeks-long tournament, and as more National Basketball Association players appeared and drew enormous crowds, the event moved in 1984 from Fred Samuel Playground, formerly Readers Digest Park, to Holcombe Rucker Park. Since its founding, the Classic has featured National Basketball Association stars such as Kobe Bryant, Allen Iverson, Stephon Marbury, Lebron James, and Shaquille O'Neal, and in the 1990s Marius broadened it further by integrating entertainers including Michael Bivins, Fat Joe, Jay Z, P. Diddy, Alicia Keys, Beyoncé, Rihanna, and Mary J. Blige. Political and business figures such as United States President Bill Clinton and National Basketball Association Commissioner David Stern also joined the crowds. After Marius died on April 22, 2017, following a battle with cancer, Gus Wells and Cordell Marius, co-commissioners of the Entertainers Basketball Classic, continued his dream, and in June 2017 New York City honored the man who helped change the culture of streetball by naming Rucker Park’s basketball court Greg Marius Court.

New York, New York · United States