Category: Sports

After a recent picture went viral on Reddit, a map denoting the most popular sports in each country around the world, many people were surprised to see basketball top the bill in various countries. Though if you were a regular reader of Sports Mania, you would struggle to believe that soccer wasn’t the dominant sport in every country.

China and the Philippines took some people by surprise, particularly given that the average height in these countries is significantly smaller than that of the US. But, that isn’t stopping anyone from their passion for the game – nor does it mean they don’t know how to throw it down.

What was less surprising, but failed to encapsulate the rich history, was the inclusion of the Baltic countries. All three of Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia are big fans of basketball – more so than any other sport.

1930s

It’s not just a matter of these being dairy-eating countries of extreme heights, but they’re also very good at the game. In 1935, Latvia won the first European championship in Switzerland. Given the light-hearted rivalry between Latvia and Lithuania, the latter decided to recruit some of their talented Lithuanian-American players (i.e. Frank Lubin), issuing them passports in response to Latvia’s win. 

Unsurprisingly, two years later Lithuania had won the European championship in 1937, and then won it again in 1939 – the second time being at home in the Kaunas Sports hall. During this decade, Estonia too found themselves a sport they were good at, coming 9th in the 1936 Olympic games – impressive for a country with such a small population – and 5th in the 1937 and 1939 EuroBasket championship.

This success in the 30s kicked off a long love for the game, particularly for Latvia and Lithuania. This is a bit like Uraguay and soccer – the country won the first-ever world cup in 1930 and then won it again in 1950. Since then, they have been totally consumed by the sport, with it being a strong part of their national identity.

Nazi and Soviet period: 1940 – 1990

Coming off the back of such proud national identity and sporting success, the Baltic countries all fell victim to a long, gruelling generational period of occupation and oppression. In the 1940s, there were mass deportations implemented by the soviets after the fall of Nazi Germany. Despite such devastating occupation, basketball remained at the core of the countries’ leisure, being one part of their identity that lived on through Soviet times.

Unfortunately, such basketball endeavours would have to be played under the Soviet regime, meaning the Baltic countries have a ~50 year period in their history where they had technically not participated in any basketball events of their own; instead, reluctantly representing the Soviet Union on the sporting stage.

Technically, during this period the Soviet Union did see a lot of basketball success – no surprise really, as the teams were made of great Baltic players like Stepas Betautas and Arvydas Sabonis. They had won the EuroBasket twice in the 50s, 6 times in the 60s, 4 times in the 70s, and 4 times in the 80s. 

90s Onwards – Near Olympic Success

After the fall of the Soviet Union and regaining their national independence, the love of basketball began to shine once again but this time in a way they can truly get behind. This is where Lithuania ended up ahead of the three countries when it came to basketball talent.

Lithuania went on to make a big impact on the world stage in 1992 when they got bronze at the Olympics in Barcelona. Coming right after independence and overperforming given their tiny population and lack of resources, the events inspired a film to be created, titled “The Other Dream Team” – which documents the story of the 1992 Olympics for Lithuania in the aftermath of gaining independence. 

If that wasn’t enough, Lithuania went on to win bronze at the next two consecutive Olympics, in 1996 and 2000. During this glory period, Lithuania had also come second in the EuroBasket in 1995 and won the championship in 2003. Furthermore, despite the resources and popularity behind basketball increasing throughout Europe, Lithuania managed to get silver in the EuroBasket in 2013 and 2015, too.

2022 and beyond

Basketball remains to be the number one sport in Lithuania by far, and although it’s close, it’s possibly the number one sport in Estonia and Latvia too. It’s true that football is widely watched and played, but with no real international competitive presence there, the nations get behind their basketball teams more than anything.

Although Latvia did not qualify, Estonia and Lithuania are both qualified to play in the 2022 EuroBasket which is set to go ahead in September – Estonia had scraped by with 2 wins and 4 losses during qualification, whilst Lithuania won 4 and lost 2. Although there may be some friendly local rivalry between the Baltics, they undoubtedly support each other in basketball when it comes to national events. A shared troubled history with a shared passion for the game.

Angel McCoughtry has been manifesting this moment for a long time now. The WNBA All-Star had thought of refurbishing and designing her own basketball court years ago but had never actually acted on it until now. After throwing the idea out to adidas, McCoughtry admits that initially, she wasn’t entirely sure what would come out of it.

To her surprise, the Three Stripes not only rocked with her vision but wanted to turn her dream of having her own court and, more importantly, giving back to the community into a reality. 

“I’m like, Oh, my God, are you serious?” McCoughtry says over Zoom of her reaction when she found out adidas wanted to help her put the project together. 

This past Friday, the five-time gold medalist and adidas unveiled the newly refurbished “Reach for the Stars” basketball court at Shively Park. They started organizing everything for the refurbishing last fall—while opting to begin painting in the summertime to ensure the paint would dry—and the result is a vibrant and intricately designed court, created by Project Backboard, with an array of colors and geometrically shaped patterns. 

McCoughtry says she specifically wanted reds to be included in the mural’s color scheme because it represents both Louisville and the community. There are also hints of yellow and her favorite color, purple. 

“There’s just hints of all kinds of colors that just brighten it up. It’s just really going to attract everybody to the court and to that area.”

Located less than 10 minutes away from the University of Louisville campus, the court also features a stunning portrait of a women’s basketball player lifting her hands in the air in triumph.

“I think what the mural symbolizes is just overcoming adversity,” McCoughtry says over Zoom, just days before the court’s unveiling. “Being a champion. There’s so much emotion behind it, and that’s what I love about the court. It’s a woman’s face, a Black woman. You don’t really see many courts with a woman figure.” 

There’s also the phrase “Reach for the Stars” written in her handwriting on the court, which also happens to be the title of her latest single. For McCoughtry, the opportunity to intertwine her love for the game with her passion for music makes that detail even more special. 

“I’ve been doing music for so long, and, of course, basketball has been my number one passion, but I’ve done it for a while. Many people don’t know that, and I just never really promoted to that level, it’s just [like] I put it out, and whoever likes it likes it, and I keep it moving, I go play basketball. But with this, just to have a connection with the court, reaching for the stars, and then they can download the song and actually be inspired by the song as well. I don’t think we’ve heard anybody do that. With adidas, we are definitely setting the bar high. We are definitely breaking barriers. I’m really excited about that part just for people to see, like, Wow, you can really do anything. That’s what my speech is going to be to the kids on that day, like; I just started playing basketball at eight. I just love the game. So if you find something you love, it can take you places you’ve never imagined. I’m standing right now on a basketball court that I helped create with adidas. So, it’s amazing.”

Growing up in Baltimore, the five-time gold medalist admits that the courts were “rough,” At the time, she didn’t see anyone, from big names to brands, coming in to refurbish the space for young hoopers like herself to play on. She heard a lot about Shively Park during her time at Louisville, and while she mainly spent most of her time on campus and in the program’s training facilities, she did pass by it once or twice.

To be a part of the court’s revamping is a full-circle moment for McCoughtry, as it represents not only her own chance to give back to the community, but she hopes it will inspire more female hoopers to “know their value” and have courts of their own.

“I think that is going to start to spiral more women [and] next thing you know; more women will have courts. I assume you could see Sue Bird have one and Breanna Stewart. I’m sure they’re like, whoa, you know? That’s the goal: for more women to do these kinds of things and to inspire (them) to set the bar high. I think it’s time for us to start setting the bar high in our worth and our value and what we can bring.” 

It’s also about the next generation of female hoopers paving the way for future opportunities to arise, too. McCoughtry has continued to be an inspiration throughout her career—her resume includes numerous gold medals, WNBA Rookie of the Year, five WNBA All-Star appearances, and earned All-WNBA First Team honors twice.

Lately, she’s been spending time recovering from significant knee injuries that caused her to miss the 2021 WNBA season, but as of now, she says she’s been back in the gym and is in a good place.

“I went to the gym yesterday to just play; I felt really, really good where I’m at. I gave my agent the okay to talk to teams, so I think very soon, by the All-Star break. I’m really excited to get back out there.”

And now, having a court with her image on it only adds to her illustrious legacy. She’s not stopping there, though, and hopes that the refurbished court at Shively Park will create even more opportunities for both herself and the future of women’s basketball. 

“I will say this is definitely something that leaves a legacy. Even after I retire, I can go on and see that, wow, there’s a court. These are things that last forever—my grandkids can come and see that court. It’s amazing, and sometimes it’s like winning a championship ring, right? The championship ring doesn’t really have its value until 20 years later, 10 years later. You see how we go back and look at what Magic Johnson’s done or Michael Jordan or Lisa Leslie because the value increases as the years go by. That’s how I feel about the court; I think just the value will continue to increase. And off the court, I already talked [NBA] 2K, you know they have the WNBA side of it, [and I’m like], hey, this is an opportunity. The court to be in the video game. There (are) so many ideas and ways to maneuver with it, and (it) talks about putting the music in the video game on the WNBA side. Not even just the W side; put it on the whole video game!

But hey, just the fact that they’re loving my idea and being able to pitch that part is just amazing. Whoever thought the WNBA players would be in the video game anyway? Now I’m talking about our assets, our courts, (and) our music in video games, too. We’re taking this to a whole other level.”