Must Hoop : Kinloch Park in St. Louis

Basketball courts don’t need to to be over complicated to bring hours of joy. All you need is ninety-four by fifty feet of hard court surface, and a hoop at either end to bring smiles to people’s faces. One such court that has brought players back to play after the upgrade is the “must hoop” court in Kinloch Park in St. Louis, Missouri.

Kinloch Park in St. Louis

Despite the formula being so simple, this has not stopped creative minds from around the world constructing some of the most unique courts we have ever seen. These feasts for the eyes have become national landmarks, and bucket list items when visiting certain countries.

The love of basketball has transcended over time, and so has the creative genius of artists who share the same passion for the game. One of those remarkable courts is in St Louis, Missouri, as artist William LaChance designed a must see court in his hometown in 2017.

LaChance fashioned an abstract, technicolour basketball court in his native city for Project Backboard – and initiative that aims to transform public courts in order to grow a community. In his own words, the initiative was created as “a canvas for creative expression to strengthen communities and inspire multi-generational play.”

LaChance is known for his wild imagination and use of bold and bizarre colours. He is famous for abstract paintings that are exhibited in the offices of NBC and Nike, a lot of which are sold online for upwards of $9000 per piece.

You’ll find the court in Kinloch Park in St Louis, and LaChance used the canvas of a run down and bleak looking court as his inspiration. Now, the project has seen the surface transformed with modernist abstract shapes filled with bright lights and colours.

The talented artist shaped the design by hand, before replicating the mural onto the hardcourt. As a finishing touch, LaChance also created matching backboard designs for each of the six hoops on the court.

For any basketball lover who loves to play on unique and iconic court voted one of the “10 Best Designed Basketball Courts in the World” by Architectural Digest, be sure to stop over in Missouri on your next travel adventure. 

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