Retired NBA players like to lament how the game has gone soft in recent years. Today’s players flop too much, they don’t have to deal with hand checks, and any hard foul is immediately flagged as flagrant. Of course, players in the ’80s and ’90s never had to deal with hybrid zone defenses (that was “illegal defense” back then) or cover all that extra space that the three-point revolution ushered in, but that’s beside the point.
Next time you hear a former player talk about how today’s athletes aren’t as strong as they used to be, please show them wrestleball. Yes, ring ball. This is a real sport in Russia with its own YouTube channel. The early returns are absolutely incredible to watch.
You may remember UFC GOAT Khabib Nurmagomedov saying he plays “Dagestani basketball” to train. Clips of this sport have gone viral before. It’s a full league now and it’s hard to take your eyes off it.
Basketball and wrestling couldn’t be more different than sports. It takes completely different body types and skills to be good at each of them. I remember playing basketball in high school gym class with wrestlers who had the most busted jump shots you’ve ever seen in your life. There’s no doubt that most basketball players with their long, lanky bodies would be demolished in real wrestling. That’s why this new sport is so exciting to watch.
It feels like a combination of basketball, rugby and wrestling. There is no travel in wrestleball. There are free throws for shooting fouls, but you can also cleanly attack your opponent on the court whether they have the ball or not. Outside the limits is just a state of mind. If you thought the old Big East was rough, just wait until you see someone take off their shirt mid-game and body-smack their opponent. This is a real thing that happened:
Wrestleball doesn’t start with a jump ball. That wouldn’t make any sense. Instead, it begins with… a wrestling match to determine possession. There don’t seem to be any goalkeepers. However, there is a three-point line. Most of these guys don’t exactly have the touch of Ray Allen from deep and instead just throw the ball up and hope it comes in from the backboard. Field goals are worth a point and it seems like the majority of goals are scored from the free throw line.
If you thought the NBA playoff games of the ’80s scored low, wait ’til you see three brutal periods of wrestleball. Here you can watch an entire game (match?).
Which NBA player throughout history would be the best wrestleball player? The first name that comes to mind is Charles Oakley. Let us know your choices in the comments.
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