“Whatever precautions we put in place, this event was anticipated by the whole city,” said Dyckman Program Supervisor and coach of Da Young Ones, Isaiah Brown. “It’s like putting too much water in a cup, eventually it will just overflow.”

Players and fans from every borough came to see what Team NIKE was capable of and how they would coexist. United Brooklyn, headlined by players like Gary Ervin, Gary Forbes of the Denver Nuggets and Curtis Sumpter, former McDonald’s All-American and Villanova standout, were eager to prove Team NIKE was simply hype. Despite having that trio, United Brooklyn was missing their team’s heart and soul. “Kavon (Lytch) will be here,” said United Brooklyn coach Sid Jones. “I promise, he’s on his way.” But the man with the most to say about Team NIKE was nowhere to be found at the start of the game.

Lamont Jones of United Brooklyn hit Kenny Satterfield with a behind-the-back crossover and jumper to excite the crowd from the first play. Forever the professional, Kenny Satterfield aka “Seirius Satellite” (9 points) answered with a three-pointer, letting all onlookers know that neither he nor his team would go out lightly. A few plays later, Antwan “Anti Freeze” Dobie would have Sumpter on an iso and show him no mercy by freezing him up and finishing with a jumper from the right elbow, sparking a 12-7 lead for Team NIKE.

As Team NIKE began to extend their lead, announcer Joe Pope began to question, to the crowd, why Adris “Too Hard To Guard” DeLeon wasn’t even on the court yet, let alone in Coach Bingo’s starting lineup. With an 18-12 Team NIKE lead with eight minutes to play in the first half, the crowd erupted with cheers as homegrown hero Too Hard To Guard made his way over to the scorer’s table. Whatever life United Brooklyn thought they had at that point was lost as DeLeon got on the scoreboard as soon as he checked in. The atmosphere shifted from a Team NIKE show to a Too Hard To Guard show as the Dyckman favorite crossed his way over for layups, jumpers and even a Dwyane Wade-esque over the shoulder-shot as he was spinning into the lane. Once that bucket went in, the message was sent: There was no stopping Too Hard To Guard or his new Team NIKE teammates tonight.

“All my confidence hit me after that shot went in,” said DeLeon, who had a team-high 16 points. “To keep it 100, I was a little nervous at first, and I wasn’t sure how we would all do, but I felt like our chemistry clicked as soon as that shot went in.”

Right after DeLeon’s bucket gave his team a 32-18 lead and a little breathing room, announcer Joe Pope said the words the United Brooklyn fans longed to hear:

“Happy Feet is here.”

With only two minutes left to play in the first half, Kavon “Happy Feet” Lytch made his way through the crowd with the hopes of ending his team’s drought.

“I had another game somewhere else and I got here by halftime,” Lytch said. “I looked at the score and I was like, ‘Damn, we’re down by like 14?’ They already had the momentum; I mean I’m only one man. There was nothing I could do.”

Lytch may have arrived late, but New York City streetball is unforgiving. Standing along the sideline, one heckler made sure he let Happy Feet know he wasn’t sympathetic and wasn’t impressed with his game.

“You and G-Erv had the most to say in that video and y’all are the most quiet,” said onlooker Victor Villanueva. “What do y’all have, 2 points between the two of y’all?”

As United Brooklyn continued to struggle, the chemistry between Team NIKE proved to be too much and continued to flow smoothly in the second half. Anthony “I Robot” Glover was too much to handle in the post and faced double-teams all night, which allowed him to hit a wide-open Dobie for back-to-back threes to open up the second half. With the game slowly pulling away into a 20-point submission, Anthony “Africa” Pimble closed the show with multiple breakaway highlight dunks. Team NIKE finished the game with a 71-51 win and, more importantly, set the tone for the rest of the summer.

“Game one is the first game you’re supposed to show what you’ve got,” said Dyckman director Kenny Stevens. “Team NIKE played together real well, and they backed up what they said they were going to do. We’ll see what happens the rest of the summer.”

Team NIKE set their tone early this summer with an easy 20-point victory over a tough United Brooklyn team. Perhaps the scariest of all, though, is that they did it without the instant offense of Keydren “Kee Kee” Clark, who is still delayed from returning home overseas. The schedule only gets tougher as next Wednesday’s game has Team NIKE matching up against defending Dyckman champs, Take No Prisoners.

Last night set the table for a New York City hoops summer like no other, and it was only a Wednesday! Dyckman Park’s making history. Where else would you wanna be?