Basketball

OK, so you've got game like Public Enemy; this much we know from all the pickup and one-on-one games you've won over the past couple years. But the way we see it, there's always room to improve your jump shot and moves to the hole. And there’s no better way to do it than by practicing with the right soundtrack, cranked up to pound like a musical defibrillator. We've got just the thing — a playlist of adrenaline-pumping shots boasting a block-rockin’ Kurtis Blow classic ("Basketball"), a thumpin’, neck-snappin’ mix of "Let's Get It Started," and concrete-yard monsters like "Jump Around," "Whoomp! There It Is," and "Make 'Em Say Ugh" (hey, there's a reason why its music video features a basketball court backdrop).

Now that you've worked up a sweat, take a moment to swig some water, because our Next Steps aren’t gonna let up until every shot is nothing but the sweet, sweet sound of net.

Judging by lyrics and rhyme schemes alone, our Basketball playlist is more like a play-by-play of your hoop dreams. Think about it: the unhinged hooks of "Slam" scream behind-the-back and in-your-face dunks, the wheezing synths and smooth R&B lead of "Run It!" beg you to run the court like an unchained point guard, and the pass-the-mic posse cuts "We Takin' Over" and "Step Yo Game Up" are ripe for throwing 'bows and sinking free throws. And then there are our left-field selections — music made for blacktop battles whether you realize it or not, including the electro outbursts and world music drum beats of "Bucky Done Gun" and the dance club anthem "Right Here, Right Now," a prime slice of entrance music for all you arena starters.

Our Deep Cuts hit the floor on a similar tip, jumping genres while moving with the power and finesse of a fast break.

The game may be winding down and your legs probably feel the way Jell-O might feel . . . if it were in the shape of legs, but now is definitely not the time to sit things out. You've got a game to win, and we've got a full-court press of music to get your feet off the ground and the ball where it needs to go — from a slab of funk-metal about taking it to the hole ("Magic Johnson") to a groove-riding slab of Motown ("The Day Basketball Was Saved"). Not to mention a serving of obsessive B-ball tributes, including the easy, breezy "Shooting Hoops," the white-man-can't-jump jam "(I Can't Play) Basketball," the bubbly video game theme "NBA 2K2," the rapid-fire verses of "Hoop Dreams," the squiggly dance beats of "Basketball Jam," and a classic comedy routine from Bill Cosby ("The Invention of Basketball") that puts it all in perspective.

As important as music is to all sports — from the place of punk in skateboarding and surf videos to the importance of certified jock jams in hockey and football arenas — there's hardly any separation between the two when it comes to basketball. Blast our playlist from a courtside boom box and you'll be floored by how locked in it is with every shot, block, pass, and slam dunk. That goes for the laid-back swing of "Sweet Georgia Brown" (the unmistakable, whistle-led theme of the Harlem Globetrotters); the comedy of Cheech and Chong, Bill Cosby, and Jimmy Fallon; quirky pop (Gorillaz, M.I.A.); and, most importantly, the heartbeat of the game itself — hip-hop — from chart-topping rap stars (the Notorious B.I.G., Chamillionaire, 50 Cent, Jay-Z) to underground favorites as scrappy as a second-string point guard (Jurassic 5, Dan the Automator). Crank it up — this is the sound of your game.