The Harlem Globetrotters Tickets

Replacing unrelenting competitiveness with a lighthearted sense of fun is what the Harlem Globetrotters team is all about. This exhibition basketball team is more of a performance art troupe, combining incredible basketball skill and athleticism with theatricality and comedy. The team has played over 26,000 games over the course of their career and are the most well-traveled team in basketball having visited over 100 countries.

History

The team was originally founded in Chicago in January of 1928 by a group of players who all attended the same high school. They were originally known as the Savoy Big Five, a team that would play exhibition games before dances that were held at the Savoy Ballroom. Later that year the original group of players broke up after a dispute. Some left the team all together, others rejoined and created a new team called the Globe Trotters. In 1929 Abe Saperstein became the manager for the team and began to promote them. Under his management the team began to be known as New York Harlem Globe Trotters, a name chosen due to Harlem’s significance in African-American culture.

In 1940 the Globetrotters were one of the first teams to play in the World Professional Basketball Tournament, which they won. They would later go on to play notable teams such as the Minneapolis Lakers (Los Angeles Lakers), making history when they beat one of the best white basketball teams. When the National Basketball Association was formed it had an impact on the team. The league suddenly started drafting young African-American men and giving them professional contracts, meaning that the Globetrotters were losing their key players. Eventually the team became known more for the performances that they put on over the sport itself. Today their “games” revolve mostly around their stunts and feats of coordination, like balancing multiple basketballs at once or making high-difficulty shots.

Although the team is known mainly now for entertainment purposes, the players are still extremely skilled in the sport. Many of the original Globetrotters would go on to play in the NBA. Some of the more notable Globetrotters that have gone on to play professionally include Wilt Chamberlain and Connie Hawkins.

To see the lighter side of basketball, there's no better show than the Harlem Globetrotters— buy tickets now to see them when they roll through your city!