Refurbished basketball courts breathe new life into community spaces

With 27 Olympic gold medals between the men’s and women’s teams, USA Basketball knows a thing or two about cultivating talent. So what do they list as the number one value for their youth development program? Fun.

• Having fun is the backbone of the winningest basketball program in the world, and what’s more fun than free and accessible sports? Creating public spaces that are attractive to kids can help increase that access.

Just ask WNBA star Paige Bueckers, who cites Blackstone Park in her hometown of St. Louis Park, Minnesota, as the place where she fell in love with the game. Earlier this summer, Bueckers attended the unveiling of a refurbished Blackstone Park, a project she helped fund alongside Gatorade, Project Blackboard, and others.

• Her investment changed the park from two undersized half-courts into a resurfaced regulation court with brand new baskets and a fresh coat of bright purple paint, complete with an empowering message about access to the game.

The beauty of outdoor courts is that even with cracks, puddles, and fading lines, they help kids like Bueckers and four-time WNBA MVP A’ja Wilson fall in love with basketball. Rejuvenating these courts brings more people into the fold and creates new community spaces where young girls see women in basketball being celebrated. It’s the future, and it’s technicolor.

💫 Art changes the way we experience sports. Don’t think so? Try attending a professional basketball game without music, lighting, uniforms, or video programming. The connection between art, sports, and community runs deep, and it’s worth exploring through the eyes of artists breathing new life into public courts.

🌙 Najja Moon is a visual artist, poet, and basketball player based in Miami, Florida. Moon collaborated with Project Backboard in 2025 to create a public art installation, only instead of existing on gallery walls, the Uncommon Routes project can be seen on the concrete at Miami’s Legion Park.

• Moon was recently named a WaveMaker grantee from Locust Projects — Miami’s longest-running art incubator funded by the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts — for a series named Movement Studies that turns outdoor courts into classrooms to explore art history through the lens of basketball.

🌈 LA–based artist Erin Miller Wray brings her vivid, geometric style to everything from surfboards to apparel and, of course, basketball courts. Her creations are meant to be touched and experienced, as she merges art with athletics to make people feel seen, encouraged, and inspired to move.

🎹 Painter, muralist, and community leader Janel Young helped bring about Pittsburgh’s first public art court. Years later, she pitched another redesign project for a historic North Pittsburgh court known as The Jungle.

• Young’s submission, A Northside Solo, won the Every Court has a Story giveaway, leading to a complete renovation of the court with her design that weaves the fluidity of basketball with the unpredictability of jazz. Stunning.

🪣 Collage artist and former college athlete Alyssa Barnes is the 2026 My HomeCourt and Providence Housing Authority Artist, meaning you can follow along as the Rhode Islander designs a court in her hometown. Having already worked with five-time WNBA All-Star Angel McCoughtry, Zendaya, and the aforementioned Bueckers, you know this next project is bound to be good.

The community-building and statement-making potential of custom courts has big branding opportunities as well. The WNBA’s Golden State Valkyries debuted the Chase Freedom Court earlier this season, with a blue-green gradient and team logo at center court.

• On top of that, Chase donated $1K for every shot made in the two games that featured the special court, totaling $98K for the Golden State Community Foundation.

The NBA also utilizes specialized courts to make its in-season tournament, the NBA Cup, feel more distinct. Bright colors (sometimes too bright), gradients, and team-specific graphics give the unique feel of an alternate jersey, but applied to the hardwood.

• This practice was also seen in Latin America, where as part of its 75th anniversary, the NBA refurbished outdoor courts in Mexico, Argentina, Brazil, and the Dominican Republic.

Whether it’s being used as outreach in countries where basketball has room to grow or revitalizing neighborhoods and encouraging more girls to play, the power of refurbished courts shows the deep connection between art and sports. We can’t wait to see the next generation of hoopers, painters, and spectators that fall in love with the game because of them.