The Harlem Globetrotters is kicking off their 100th season at MSG.<\/p>\n
Madison Square Garden has framed some of sports and pop culture\u2019s defining nights. The iconic Harlem Globetrotters are asking New York to add one more on Dec. 14 \u2013 their centennial season tipoff.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen you think about the historic and seismic things that people still talk about that happened at the world\u2019s most famous arena, there aren\u2019t many brands able to say they\u2019ve made it to 100 years \u2014 touring the world, impacting people\u2019s lives, bringing joy, hope and laughter everywhere they go,\u201d Globetrotters President Keith Dawkins told amNY. \u201cTo kick off this centennial, this historic, monumental centennial at the Garden, it\u2019s just magical, right?\u201d
\nFounded in 1926, the Harlem Globetrotters have spent a century pushing the game forward and breaking barriers, which is why the Garden makes sense as the starting point. With the opener at MSG, the franchise is foregrounding its New York lineage.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe first player to sign a professional basketball contract with the Knicks was a Harlem Globetrotter,\u201d Dawkins said, referring to Sweetwater Clifton, who broke the NBA racial barrier in 1950. \u201cSo all of these things that we take for granted today, that are just normal, the Globetrotters ushered all of that into not just basketball, but into professional sport as we know it, [and] forever changed the landscape.\u201d Framed that way, what better place to start the next hundred years than the Mecca of basketball?<\/p>\n
This \u201cOnce in a Century\u201d presentation is built to honor every era of the Globetrotters\u2019 100-year history. On the floor, more than 60 current Globetrotters are slated to form the largest Magic Circle in team history. Inside the action, the team will debut \u201cGold Ball\u201d moments that nod to how Globetrotter creativity helped shape the sport, and fans can pick up a limited Spalding Gold Ball in-arena. The day features alumni and celebrity appearances, a postgame fan celebration with autographs and added access, and New York edition collectibles available only at this game. The idea is a fast, family-friendly show that threads 100 years into what you\u2019re seeing now.<\/p>\n
Visually, the brand is resetting its look for the next century and returning to the Globetrotters\u2019 roots. \u201cWe brought back the iconic red, white and blue, in partnership with legendary designer Jeff Hamilton,\u201d Dawkins said. Hamilton \u2014 long known around the NBA for his 75th anniversary jackets and player collaborations \u2014 is the kind of designer whose work perfectly honors the legacy of the storied franchise.<\/p>\n
Other sports have experimented with entertainment, but hoops remains the most flexible canvas, with handles, lobs, music and movement all working together in real time. Dawkins leaned into that lineage: \u201cBefore you saw what Kyrie or Steph \u2014 Luka too \u2014 could do, the Globetrotters were doing that,\u201d he said. \u201cThey laid the groundwork for the magical kind of entertainment style, the blending of entertainment and sport, of fashion and music as part of the fabric of the sport. The Globetrotters were doing that before you even saw that.\u201d<\/p>\n
And while the centennial show looks back, the Globetrotters always focus on whoever is seeing the game for the first time. \u201cFor some people, that\u2019s their first introduction to just the sport of basketball overall. And in some cases, it\u2019s their first introduction to the wizardry and magic \u2014 the skill and the excellence,\u201d he said. \u201cBut\u2026 It\u2019s also their first introduction to the sport, to American culture, to Black culture, to women playing, right? So it really starts to expand.\u201d
\nThat outlook ties into the Globetrotters\u2019 \u201cAmbassadors of Goodwill\u201d identity that dates back decades. \u201cWe were coined by the State Department as the Ambassadors of Goodwill\u2026 the way we were bringing this export of\u2026 basketball, [and] the best of American values and ideals expressed through the sport\u2026 all over the globe,\u201d Dawkins said. \u201cIt\u2019s just great to hear that feedback from people of maybe \u2018my first introduction to basketball [or] American culture was with the Globetrotters.\u2019 We do it in a special way.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Harlem Globetrotters’ 100th anniversary season is a celebration of their rich history, legacy, and impact on the sport of basketball. With their "Once in a Century" presentation, they are honoring every era of their 100-year history and introducing a new generation to the magic of the Globetrotters.<\/p>\n
Q: When and where is the Harlem Globetrotters’ 100th anniversary season kickoff?
\nA: The Harlem Globetrotters kick off their 100-year tour at MSG at noon on Dec. 14.
\nQ: How can I purchase tickets for the event?
\nA: Tickets are available on Ticketmaster and the MSG Box Office, with group and accessibility options available.
\nQ: What can I expect from the "Once in a Century" presentation?
\nA: The presentation will feature over 60 current Globetrotters, alumni and celebrity appearances, a postgame fan celebration, and New York edition collectibles available only at this game.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Introduction to the Harlem Globetrotters’ 100th Anniversary Season The Harlem Globetrotters is kicking off their 100th season at MSG. Madison Square Garden has framed some of sports and pop culture\u2019s defining nights. The iconic Harlem Globetrotters are asking New York to add one more on Dec. 14 \u2013 their centennial season tipoff. History of the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":26176,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rank_math_lock_modified_date":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[25],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-26174","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-sports"},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i3.wp.com\/www.amny.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/20250110_AFA_Globetrotters_mwp_0041.jpg?quality=51&w=384&w=384&resize=384,256&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/new-york\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26174"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/new-york\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/new-york\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/new-york\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/new-york\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=26174"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/new-york\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26174\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":26177,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/new-york\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26174\/revisions\/26177"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/new-york\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/26176"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/new-york\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=26174"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/new-york\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=26174"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/new-york\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=26174"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}