21 (basketball)
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21 is a popular variation of street basketball. It is played most often with 3-9 players on a half court and is a "one against all" game with much looser rules than even streetball. Rules are fluid and are often different regionally and/or court specific. It is popular because it allows an odd number of people to play which is not possible in regular street basketball and it is very challenging because it is one player against the world.
Scoring is recorded differently than regular basketball. In 21, field goals count as two points (rather than one in normal streetball) after which the player must shoot free throws, and in other regions three pointers, for 1 point apiece. If a free throw is missed the rebound is in play, much like a "1 and 1" situation in regular basketball. If a player makes his free throw he shoots until he misses. If he misses and the other people tap it in, the player that shot the ball loses all his points.
The game is won by the first person to score 21 points exactly. If there is no "win by two" rule (see below) on that court or in that game then the first party to score 21 exactly without going over is the winner. If the first party reaches 22 then this is called a bust or marky and still enforced. For example, if a player gets a traveling violation the person guarding him gets the ball. Thus if a player makes an attempt and the ball goes out of bounds the first player to get the ball takes it into play. If a player dribbles out of bounds there is no penalty. The player simply brings the ball back in bounds. Often the ball is "checked" after an out of bounds by giving the ball to a defender who then gives it back to the ball handler. This gives the defense a chance to ready themselves. Carries and travels are not often called as long as the ball carrier is making a good faith attempt to maintain a semblance of basketball dribbling rules and not gaining advantage through circumventing the rules. This often allows a player who has lost their dribble in an awkward place and become surrounded to continue dribbling to get out of the situation and attempt a shot. This does not allow a player to trick opposing players by losing his dribble and suddenly regaining it or other such trickery. Rather, the rules are fluid to allow for situations which are not covered by normal basketball rules.
Fouls are often not called unless they are particularly brutal or obvious. The player with the ball often never calls the foul as a point of pride. Therefore, all fouls are conceded by the defense. On many courts it is expected that after a rebound the player must dribble out beyond the three point line or free throw line extended before attacking (called "clearing the ball". Sometimes the defensive team has to touch the ball before it can be played again) but it is just as often the case that rebounds can be immediately put back.
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[edit] Regional Variations
The win by two rule is not as common as straight "21" but it is played in some areas. "Win by two" comes into play if the game is tied at 20. After that, one team or the other can only win if they are ahead by 2 points. It is possible, then, to play forever, though usually the game will end at some point by agreement if the players get tired of playing.
A "break the ice" rule is common in the Northeast United States, where players must first sink a shot from the foul line before they are eligible to earn points from rebounds.
On some courts freethrow rules are "all day" in which the shooter continues shooting freethrows until he misses and play continues on the rebound. On other courts, the scorer can shoot three free throws and if he makes all of them, he gets to take the ball out again. Often all baskets are counted as two points regardless of if they are made from behind the three point line or not. This is often decided before the game and also depends on if the outdoor court has a three point line or not.
Many times the option of playing "taps" or "tap in's" is discussed at the beginning of the game of 21. In these rules if a player taps in another player’s shot (grabbing and shooting a rebound while in mid-air) the player whose shot was tapped goes to a score of zero. Often this is not done as the game is significantly lengthened. "Taps" seems to be a more recent phenomenon and more popular with young teenage players (written 2005). It changes the tactics of the game as medium range jumpers are dangerous due to short rebounds and thus a greater chance for taps. This puts more emphasis on drives to the hoop (and higher percentage shots) or long three point shots which often bounce further from the rim and thus diminish the possibility of tap in's. Some people even play with taps in play after a missed free throw, often argued over because it promotes either a successful free-throw, or a completely off one. In the western and mid-western United States, “taps” are sometimes referred to as "tips."
On courts where "taps" rules are used, there is commonly a problem with defense. Many players, instead of guarding the player with the ball, will congregate under the basket. This is often seen as unsportsmanly, which has led in some places (California in particular) to a new rule, commonly called "you miss it, you guard it" or "stick yo' brick". This rule states that if you shoot the ball and miss, and another player rebounds it, it is your responsibility to guard that player. This stops players from having wide open shots and drives to the basket.
Also, on some courts if the shooter is at 20 and misses the last free throw, he must go back to 13. If the shooter is at 20 and makes a field goal putting him over 20, he must go back to 13. This causes some people to deliberately miss the 20th free throw and thus allow them to go stay at 19 and win the game with the next basket.
A regional variation played in El Paso, Texas, during the 1980s, specified that a one-handed tip-in would send a player back down to zero, while a two-handed tip-in would send him back to eleven. After a player was "tipped" a certain number of times (agreed upon before the game), he was out of the game. In this variation of the game, a player who had 20 and missed a free throw went back down to 11. Also, a player always had the option of shooting his free throws from the three-point line; these longer free throws counted as two points each.
Another regional variation is that the player, upon reaching 21 points, must make a "prove-it" shot. This is a shot from either the three-point line or the free-throw line and it is required to actually win the game. On some courts, a player reaching 21 on a free-throw shot is not required to "prove-it," only players who have 19 points and reach 21 on a field goal will have to prove it.
In Seattle, Washington, a regional variation of this game has existed for quite a while. There it is known as "Booties", where the person left with the fewest number of points at the end of the game must line up under the basket. The player with the most point is allowed to throw the basketball at that player, aiming for his behind (hence the name "booties"). This version has caused frequent worry among teachers and parents for the danger in losing.
In Topeka, Kansas, a regional variation of this game has existed for at least 30 years that is similar to the Seattle game. There it is known as "Booty Green," where the winning player is allowed to throw the basketball at the behinds of the losing players, though in practice this ceremony is typically not performed. Scoring rules are similar to other variations listed above: a player gets two points for a field goal, and gets to shoot one-point free throws until missed. A score of 13 will bust a player back to 0, and a score of 20 will bust a player back to 13, making it common for players to intentionally miss their 13th or 20th point free throws. When games include players of a wide range in ages (and/or height), a rule against tip-ins is common in which a player must take the ball "back court," behind the free throw line, before attempting a shot.
In Dallas, Texas, people seem to play 23 instead of 21 with same rules & regulations. In Houston, Texas, when there are too many players playing, they have added a "mercy" rule which any player who has not scored when someone reaches 15 will get automatically ejected from the game. In Austin, Texas, I have witnessed two bounces rule several times. It is hard to determine who gets the first possession, so they throw the ball in the air prior to the game, first one to grab the ball after the ball bounces twice on the ground will get the first possession.
