Basketball in Barcelona: Parc de la Barceloneta

Living in Barcelona since April 2018. Experiencing the city through Basketball

Back on the road for my second trip through Barcelona and today's court really blew my mind.

Running alongside the beach coastline, in Parc de la Barceloneta, there's a basketball court that looks like it could be straight out of a movie set. The massive metal frame that surrounds it makes it feel like you are in an arena. The floor markings that call out the 'NBA Cares' campaign is the perfect final touch.

I don't know if the court was made as part of 'NBA Cares' campaign or if that came along after. Either way, for an NBA fan who doesn't see much of those iconic initials in Liverpool, it was a pretty exciting feeling.

The distance between the two baskets is too long for a 5 vs 5 but the floor markings split the space into two half courts. The court floor dips inward towards the basket which isn't too noticeable when you are stood on it and the outline on the court is visible.

The downside to the court is that you are on an elevated platform which slopes to the lower ground, so when the ball goes out of bounds you are going a good distance to retrieve it. The nets are made of wire but one of the wires is loose from the rim and the hooks keeping the rim and the net together are metal, these hooks don't sit away neatly either. That was the only potential hazard on the court.

With that said the baskets are nice to shoot at as the rims are not too stiff. With the location being so close to the beach I can imagine that it attracts a lot of players on the right day. It is definitely a court I would visit again and if I had to rate it as an experience I would say a straight 10 but as a usable, playable court, pros and cons considered it gets a 7.

Shout out to Jacob from Texas who I was shooting around with today: have a safe journey home. To everyone else, I will see you out there.

WB