"We don't play outside" - B-Davis explains the difference in pick-up basketball between Los Angeles and New York City

While everybody loves watching the NBA, the stars didn’t just start playing basketball when they got to the league. They perfected their craft for years, and one of the most popular ways they did that was by playing pick-up basketball games.

Baron Davis played pick-up games even when he made it to the NBA, but he was quick to note that pick-up games in different areas are not created equally. With that in mind, he pointed out the big difference in pick-up basketball games in Los Angeles and New York City.

Baron dishes on pick-up basketball

While Davis wasn’t a streetballer, his style of play in the NBA had shades of streetball in it, thanks to his flashy offensive moves. “B-Diddy” loved to play basketball no matter what, which led to him playing pick-up games in both Los Angeles and New York City.

Pick-up basketball may seem like pick-up basketball, but Baron affirmed that it is not. For example, he shared that pick-up games are not played outside in L.A. because of the level of competition that these young players want to participate in.

“L.A. is different than New York,” Baron said on Games With Names . “We don’t play outside, which is crazy. Imagine a bunch of guys gathering at a park like New York in LA with gang culture. That’s why we don’t play outside.”

“We play organized. You got the RealRun, you got the Drew League, you got the Say No Classic, you got AAU, so everybody kind of play indoors. The best basketball is really what team you can put together on the AAU side, what’s the best team you can put together in the Drew or the RealRun…Real hoopers don’t play outside. We don’t play streetball,” Davis added.

Related: Forbes says USA Basketball will spend $15 million in Paris: "You're talking about some very, very famous and very rich individuals"

Both L.A. and NY are hubs for developing NBA stars

As Davis notes, gang culture will certainly keep guys off outdoor courts, but beyond that, Los Angeles players are geared towards playing at as high a level as possible when they take the court. As a result, many guys from L.A. have made it to the NBA.

That’s not to say New York isn’t competitive, but they do things differently. Lots of guys from NYC make it to the NBA, too, and Rafer Alston noted how it gives young guys from New York role models from their city that they can look up to on their quest to make it to the league.

“In college when I was young, we had guys like Kenny Smith, Pearl Washington, Rod Strickland, Mark Jackson, we had all those guys to look up to. Even guys like David Rivers, all these phenomenal guards throughout college that we were able to see on any given Saturday or Sunday. We would look up to those guys because, in our minds, we like, ‘You know what? I wanna be on TV like those guys,’” Rafer said .

Playing basketball is the key to becoming good at the sport, and pick-up games are a great way to improve. Seeing guys from your city make it to the league is inspiring, and it helps get young hoopers on the court more frequently.

Baron brings up an interesting difference, but it’s crucial to understand how players from different areas are being developed. As long as guys are playing pick-up games, the game of basketball will only continue to grow.

Related: “They shoot at athletes out here” - Baron Davis explains why Los Angeles was not a good place for NBA players