I don’t really play basketball anymore.

Feels a bit odd to write that. I mean don’t get me wrong, this isn’t Jordan retiring from the ’96 Bulls, but to stop doing something that you’ve done for so long feels odd.

It’s not even as if it’s something I’ve done particularly well. I’ve never really played at a higher level than local league in the GBBA, not even regionally.

But with only a few gaps here and there, it’s something I’ve done pretty much weekly for 33 years. I can’t think of anything else I’ve done for that long or that consistently.

I started playing when I was 16. I’d started college, had a little growth spurt over the summer, from 5′ 10″ to 6’5″, and got roped into playing because suddenly I was tall. And everyone knows tall people play basketball, right?

Right way I was smitten. I’d never really clicked with any other sport – not football, rugby, or cricket – the traditional triumvirate of British schoolboy sport. But there was something about basketball that just reeled me in. Yes, being comparatively tall within my peers made aspects of the game easier, but there was just something about the intensity of the game that had me hooked. The speed of it, the constant flow from offense to defence, the need for footwork and good hands, the way it absolutely required everyone on the team to be engaged constantly. Loved it.

Basketball at college was just pure fun. We’d play in practices after class. Before class. At break times and lunchtimes. And sometimes when we were meant to be in class. We had a fun couple of seasons and made it to the county final. Then lost to a side with two England U18’s….

I played a little at Uni, before concentrating on spending my time with more productive drinking and idling. I wish I’d played more there, in hindsight, and basically not been so lazy.

I picked it back up again when Uni finished and I came home, playing for the Gloucester Pumas in the Gloucestershire league, and played for that club through to 2019. I ran the club for a while as Secretary, established a B squad, the Cougars, and for about 15-16 years played every single Sunday night that I could.

I played for my jobs team throughout that time too, though being a small outfit against much bigger rivals, we seldom got too far. But it was always a good excuse for a bit of a jolly, and the basketball quality was generally pretty good.

As I hit my 30’s, my aim was to keep playing until I hit 40. Because, you know 40 is practically ancient, right? (I didn’t feel too bad playing at 40, but how LeBron James has remained one of the best players in the world as he hit 40 is just insane).

Thanks to some inter-team fuckery that was going on with my club around 2019, I kind of fell out of love with playing for a while, and decided to take a break. And it felt fine. But then COVID hit, and suddenly I couldn’t play, and that was entirely not fine, and I suddenly realised I really missed playing, and probably had a little more left in the tank to give.

Thankfully around that time some other older guys I knew from around the league decided to put an ad-hoc team together for a one-off cup run. I immediately said yes, and it was really, really fun. It felt good to be back.

That ad-hoc team morphed into an official team, the Gloucester Old Spots, and we entered the league the following season. The team was made almost entirely of over 40’s, with a sprinkling of younger legs provided by the teenage sons of a couple of players. It was all guys that I’d either played with before, or frequently against, over the last 25+ years, and it was just great fun. Some of the most fun I’d ever had playing.

It was just nice still being able to play, knowing that one decent injury might make any game the last game, and everyone just playing without any ego. None of us could last the full 40 mins, and none of us were ever the best player on the court anymore. But we won as many as we lost, and gave many much younger teams a run for their money. I even made the leagues All-Star squad!

But this last season was just hard work. I’d always been fairly lucky with injuries – a sprained ankle here, a dislocated finger there – but never the big ones, torn ACLs and that sort of thing (Well there was that one time when I manage to break both my arms at the same time but that’s another story). Luckily there was no big injury to finish off. Just the accumulation of wear and tear, nagging chronic conditions, and a stubborn refusal to get better just all added up.

I spent most of the season battling an obstinate bout of plantar fasciitis that meant walking was excruciating for a few days after game, and stopped me doing much other excercise. My knees just got creakier and creakier, and that just took the last remaining spring out of my legs. And made stairs stiff work for a couple of days too. Playing was still fun. But the aftermath wasn’t, and recovery took longer and longer.

In short, I just got old.

Fuck.

I could probably still play a bit, but I don’t want to play a bit. I want to play 30+ minutes a game. With the same intensity I always have. To still be hustling back on defence with 2 minutes to play. But, I can’t. And I don’t way to just fade away, playing 5 mins here and there, making up the numbers. The embarrassing old man that no-one can quite bring themselves to tell it’s over. Better to stop now, with my dignity still intact.

So, to everyone I’ve ever played with, or against, thank you. To the coaches, referees, table officials and everyone else who gives their time to make little leagues like ours work, thank you.

It’s been a blast. But I don’r really play basketball anymore*.

*Well, maybe the odd tournament here and there, just for old times sake….