Well Naismith hung a basket
They thought it was fantastic
That's how the game of cagers came to be
Nat Holman and Pappy Ricks
Cousy's bag of tricks
And soon in every schoolyard
They played it 3 on 3.
We're talkin' basketball
Arizin and Baylor
Talkin' basketball
Easy Ed and Sailors
Russell, Schayes, and Pettit, Johnny Kerr
Mo and Jumpin Joe are names you heard
Before Michael, Magic, and the Bird.
When West and Oscar took the stage
Basketball was all the rage
The Celtics kept on winning all the while
Bing and Billy the Hill
Pistol Pete and Dollar Bill
And Dr. J gave the NBA a brand new style.
I'm talkin' basketball
Chamberlain and Pearl
Talkin' basketball
Archibald and World
Barry and Kareem and Garfield Heard
Walton soared and Hondo was the word
Before Michael, Magic, and the Bird.
Oh how we loved to see those games
The Garden was our second home
Gola, Lucas, Mike, and Clyde
L.A. Showtime, Celtic Pride
They all came to play at Madison Square
Believe me we were there.
We've had 3-peats and Bad Boys
The Dream Team that brought joy
And now they're playing hoops everywhere
We saw what Hakeem did
Now Jason is the Kidd
And boys and girls are jammin it while flying through the air.
I'm talkin' basketball
Pat Ewing and Van Exel
Talkin' basketball
Scottie, Shaq, and Drexler
The Mailman, the Admiral, Charles is Sir
And with Grant and Penny it is not absurd
To think of Michael, Magic, and the Bird.
Michael, Magic, and the Bird.
Talkin' Michael, Magic, and the Bird
Talkin' basketball...