Pickup basketball hones your game, finetunes it, inspires it. It is in the rough anarchy of randomness that the beauty of basketball shines the brightest.
Pickup basketball forces you to think on your feet, to play to your strengths and develop your athleticism. Once you have the fundamentals down, pickup is the test - you’re thrown to the lions and you will get eaten if you don’t fight back.
It’s the purest form of the game, a place where swagger and chirping is respected, if you back it up. Here, your weaknesses get exposed and your ego gets humbled.