Rezball
 A group of people playing rezball | |
| Nicknames | Rez Ball, reservation ball, American Indian basketball |
|---|---|
| First played | 18th to 19th century |
| Characteristics | |
| Contact | Yes |
| Team members | 10-15 per side |
| Mixed-sex | Yes, but usually in separate leagues/divisions |
| Equipment | Basketball |
| Presence | |
| Country or region | Four Corners region |
| Olympic | No |
Rezball, (sometimes referred to as Rez Ball or American Indian basketball) short for reservation ball, is a style of basketball associated with Native Americans.[1] It is particularly known at the high school level in the Southwestern United States.[2] As rezball has grown, there has been greater attention to how native indigenous communities are both positively and negatively impacted by the sport of rezball, such as that of suicide rates, alcohol abuse, and the challenge assimilating into the culture outside of reservations.[3][additional citation(s) needed]
Description
[edit]Rezball is transition-based basketball style that forces tempo with aggressive play, quick scoring (or shooting), and an assertive defense that looks to force turnovers through pressing or half-court traps.[1] There are slight variations from program to program.
Many Native Americans learned how to play basketball while they were held in boarding schools by the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA).[3] They incorporated running, quick passing and fast scoring to create the modern style of rezball.[1] Rezball provided an opportunity for competition among Native Americans in reservations, as well as helping bring Native American communities together by helping them overcome strife while on reservations.[3]
Origins
[edit]Native Americans were known to have played a sport similar to basketball, but they did not learn standard US game until they were placed in boarding schools by the BIA in the late 18th century or early 19th century.[1][4]
Importance for Native American communities
[edit]Rezball plays a major role in Native American culture.[3] For most Native Americans, rezball/basketball in high school is the furthest they are able to go with competing in the sport at the amateur level, as most don't try to competitively play the sport past their high school years.[5] For those who are able to continue to pursue playing the sport, many challenges are presented to them, such as that of getting used to life outside of the reservation and other social challenges such as turning to alcohol abuse.[6]
Schools and regions known for playing rezball
[edit]The Apache, Pueblo and Navajo tribes in northeastern Arizona and northwestern New Mexico are home to several high schools. In these areas, basketball is very important. In Arizona, three of the top six largest crowds at a boys' basketball game are rezball games (regardless of school size), with one of the two games tied for the highest-ever attendance being a game between Apache and Navajo schools.
Arizona's Native American largest high school arenas are; The Nash Center (Kayenta, AZ) seats 3,800, The Warrior Pavilion (Tuba City, AZ) seats 4,518, the Ganado Pavilion (Burnside, AZ) seats 5,500, The Wildcat Den (Chinle, AZ) seats 7,510, and the Bee Hółdzil Fighting Scouts Events Center (Fort Defiance, AZ) seats about 6,532. These massive arenas draw large crowds from all around the Navajo Reservation. The border town teams for Arizona that are within the AIA 3A Division are Winslow, Holbrook and Page — which consists mainly of Native Americans.[7] Some other examples of the intense following of basketball in this region were noted in February 2013 by a writer for MaxPreps.com, the high school arm of CBSSports.com. First, early in the month, the Wildcat Den hosted an Arizona Interscholastic Association (AIA) sectional tournament featuring four boys' and four girls' reservation teams. Even though neither Chinle High team participated in the sectional, more than 12,000 attended over the two-day event, with hundreds of fans arriving hours before the doors opened to get the best seats.[7] The scheduling of the AIA's state tournament later that month at the venue then known as Jobing.com Arena in Glendale, home to the NHL's Arizona Coyotes, also reflected rezball influence. In most states that host multiple state championship games at one site, the last game scheduled is the boys' championship game in the largest enrollment class. Here, however, the marquee slot was reserved for the girls' title game in Class 3A (the state's largest schools are in Class 5A)—a classification that has traditionally been dominated by reservation schools.[7]
While the Native American basketball phenomenon is most pronounced in the Four Corners region, it is not limited to that area. For example, when the girls' team from the reservation high school of the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians reached the final of the Class 3A state tournament in 2017 (which they won), about 5,000 fans traveled from the reservation to Jackson for the game.[8]
High schools
[edit]Native American Basketball Invitational (NABI)
[edit]Every year the NABI Foundation hosts the Native American Basketball Invitational (NABI) in Arizona.[13] It is instrumental in showcasing the talent of the players to college recruiters, most of whom would not travel to the remote reservation towns to recruit.[14] Additionally, NABI gives a total of about $30,000 in scholarships to players each year.[15]
The tournament hosts 128+ teams from all over the U.S., Canada and New Zealand.[15] In 2025, it set a new record with 202 teams competing.[15] From 2007 to 2022, it was an all-native tournament sponsored by Nike N7,[16][15] many Native American tribes, the Phoenix Suns organization and Phoenix Mercury organization.[14]
NABI was co-founded in 2003 by Mark West of the Phoenix Suns, the late Scott Podleski of the Arizona Rattlers and GinaMarie Scarpa, former Executive Director of the A. C. Green Youth Foundation (named for A. C. Green, the NBA Iron Man).
NABI made history in 2007 as the first all-Native tournament sanctioned by the NCAA, after NABI Foundation President & CEO GinaMarie Scarpa insisted the NCAA respect Tribal Sovereignty and exempt the tournament from complying with their "same-state rule".[15]
In popular culture
[edit]Rezball is featured in the 2024 Netflix sports drama film, Rez Ball.[5] The film is based on the 2019 nonfiction book Canyon Dreams: A Basketball Season on the Navajo Nation by journalist Michael Powell.[5]
References
[edit]- 1 2 3 4 Davies, Wade (2020). Native hoops: the rise of American Indian basketball, 1895-1970. Lawrence: University Press of Kansas. ISBN 978-0-7006-2908-4.
- ↑ "This High-School Hoops Team Is Transforming a Remote Nebraska Community". Men's Health. 2019-10-31. Retrieved 2025-06-01.
- 1 2 3 4 Powell, Michael (2019). Canyon dreams: a basketball season on the Navajo Nation. New York: Blue Rider Press. ISBN 978-0-525-53466-2.
- ↑ Hinzo, Angel M. (2023-11-06). "Assimilation, Resilience, and Survival: A History of the Stewart Indian School, 1890–2020". American Indian Culture and Research Journal. 46 (3). doi:10.17953/a3.2570. ISSN 0161-6463.
- 1 2 3 Zuckerman, Esther (2024-09-08). "The Real Inspiration Behind Netflix Sports Drama 'Rez Ball'". TIME. Retrieved 2025-06-01.
- ↑ Freeland, Sydney (2024-09-27), Rez Ball (Drama, Sport), Kauchani Bratt, Jessica Matten, Devin Sampson-Craig, Wise Entertainment, Chernin Entertainment, Lake Ellyn Entertainment, retrieved 2025-06-01
- 1 2 3 Stephens, Mitch (February 20, 2013). "Beyond the X: Rez Ball fuels basketball fever in Arizona's Navajo Nation". MaxPreps.com. CBSSports.com. Retrieved February 27, 2013.
- ↑ Fader, Mirin (August 24, 2017). "With rich hoops roots, Native American twins Kyarrah and Kyannah Grant bud into stars". ESPNW. Retrieved October 20, 2017.
- ↑ "Home - Ignacio High School". Home - Ignacio High School. Retrieved 2026-08-11.
- ↑ "Laguna-Acoma Jr./Sr. High School". laguna-acoma.gccs.k12.nm.us. Archived from the original on 2025-09-08. Retrieved 2026-08-11.
- ↑ SCHOOLS, MAGDALENA MUNICIPAL. "MAGDALENA MUNICIPAL SCHOOLS". www.magdalena.k12.nm.us. Retrieved 2026-08-11.
- ↑ "Ute Tribe Education | BasketBall". www.uintahriverwarriors.org. Retrieved 2026-08-11.
- ↑ "Our Story - NabiNation". 2024-11-08. Retrieved 2026-08-11.
- 1 2 "Our Story - NabiNation". 2024-11-08. Retrieved 2025-06-01.
- 1 2 3 4 5 "NABI in the Community - NabiNation". 2024-11-08. Retrieved 2026-08-11.
- ↑ "Nike N7". The Program. Archived from the original on 2024-11-10. Retrieved 2026-08-11.
