Harlem Globetrotters @100: Inspired Obama, stopped war, were ridiculously talented and slap-stick funny

But the team that was once seen less worthy than a chimp went on to change the world. That’s the Harlem Globetrotters, the pioneers of magical basketball, the kings who also doubled as court jesters. They were show-boaters and tricksters with incredible ball-skills. They didn’t win World Championships, but conquered hearts and ruled the minds of the world.

Even decades after its birth in Chicago, the Harlem Globetrotters brand has survived. Estimates say they have put up shows in 127 countries and entertained close to 148 million fans. In about a week’s time, they kick-off their ‘100 year tour’. As their website announces – ‘This is a once-in-a-century celebration of 100 years of jaw-dropping “No Way!” moves, 100 Years of “Wow!” and 100 Years of Heart-Pounding Thrills!’

World Trick Shot Day 🏀

As many know we are the innovators of some amazing trick shots. As we celebrate today comment below your favorite trick shots by a Globetrotter. pic.twitter.com/NwZSBZ2P0W

— Harlem Globetrotters (@Globies) December 2, 2025

In their storied journey, the Harlem Globetrotters didn’t just shoot hoops and wowed fans, but integrated the race divide at home and became America’s trusted soft power at the height of the Cold War. They were their country’s trusted ambassadors who eased geopolitical tensions.

Messi, Bolt, Neymar have been their guest players while Henry Kissinger, Whoopi Goldberg, Nelson Mandela and Pope John Paul II their honorary members. Once on a South America tour, two warring nations declared a temporary truce so they could watch the Trotters play. The feud commenced after the Pied Pipers in tight shorts left. It’s all because of those ‘no way’ moves.

Search the net for early Trotters to understand this. Look for grainy footage of tall black players in stars and stripes-themed gear. The creativity they showcase would jump out from the screen and leave one in a daze. For the dazzling dribblers, it wasn’t just about beating an opponent but making them look inadequate. Since they mostly played whites, this was payback time, their chance to make ‘them’ feel what they had for years.

The Trotters loved clowning. This wasn’t some easy comic routine, a basketball trickery mastered over many years. They would throw blind hooks from the foul line, tease defenders by going for a free throw only to stop at the final moment, just to expose the eagerness of their opponents.

There would be no-look tries from half-court and this would invariably be followed by the sweet ‘swoosh’ sound of the ball cleanly going through the hoop and the crowd screaming in disbelief. They would have their back to the board but toss the ball over the head to nail a three-pointer. They would look east but pass the ball west, magically timing the release so perfectly that their teammate on the run wouldn’t need to break stride. They were wizards.

When bored with the lack of competition, a Trotter would start bouncing the ball on his head while moving up the court. When challenged by a rival defender, he would be on one knee spinning around. He would even get sprawled on the court to surprise his opponents. All along this forward march, the ball would be by his side, constantly bouncing and moving.

The crowd would be in splits witnessing the mocking. Every night would have a new gag. They would hide the ball in their jersey or bounce it on the head of a teammate. They had huge frames, lean figures, and the basketball in their hand looked like a medium-sized watermelon.

Universal language

The ball was their pal, the companion they had spent hours, days and years with. It listened to what they said, and came to them when they called. They were the early stand-up comedians and their language was basketball. In alien lands, they didn’t have a translator but had people from those countries and cultures at hello. How long could one be cold to someone who made one laugh?

That was the reason, on their tour to the Soviet Union, they had tea with premier Nikita Khrushchev, and got the Athletic Order of Lenin medal. And when the US wanted to reach out to Argentina under Juan Peron in the 1950s, the Globetrotters travelled to Buenos Aires where First Lady Eva showered them with gifts. The ‘no way’ shots would break the ice.

They would also travel to nations with no basketball culture, at times they would play on drained-out pools and skating rinks. There have been times their hosts would give them a football to shoot at the hoop. They went to Brazil and attracted 1,20,000 fans at a football ground. The legendary Yao Ming said he took to basketball after the Trotters toured China.

In his book Spinning the Globe, Ben Green talks of how Trotters changed the game at a time when basketball was played from ‘chicken-wire cages by roughneck immigrants with flailing elbows and bloodied skulls, a sport more resembling rugby than an orchestration of speed, fluidity, motion, dazzling skills and inspired comedy.’

The Trotters made whites believe that blacks were good enough to play basketball and this would be the start of a change and slow integration of the races. As a kid, former US President Barack Obama lived in Hawaii, a state that had few blacks. It was a Trotters game where he saw the light, it gave him the confidence to believe in himself and not get swayed by the negativism around his kind.

“The players of Harlem Globetrotters were like black men of that generation, people with enormous talent who could not always show their talent and suffered great indignity to keep food on the table. It was the strength and determination of that generation just to survive that did the groundwork for people like myself to serve in the US Senate,” he said.

From being denied a place in a hotel, where even a chimp could stay, to inspiring a black man to make it to the White House.

The Trotters, in their 100-year journey, weren’t just shooting hoops, they were making ‘no way’ dreams come true.