CBC was created by artist Lu Zhang and curator Herb Tam in 2019 with a core group of artists, musicians and designers of Asian descent. As cultural producers and basketball fanatics we always felt like outcasts, never quite fitting in with jocks or artists. We grew up obsessed with Slam Dunk mangas, anxious fans of Yao Ming and Linsanity. We held these obsessions close to us until we found a community of like-minded hoop devotees. CBC was a safe space to express who we really are, and to commit to the game we always dreamt of.

Through annual tournaments, monthly themed runs, weekly pick-up hoop gatherings, fundamentals Sunday School workshops, and things we dream up and make, Chinatown Basketball Club lives out a hoops ethics of openness, competitiveness, friendship and creativity. For us, the basketball court is a home, a studio, a workshop, and a place of belonging.