Credits

Every photograph was cropped and regraded for this site (black and white or softened colour, deeper blacks, grain). The legends’ faces were also enlarged with Real-ESRGAN and their backgrounds darkened. Adapted pictures under CC BY-SA are shared under the same licence.

Since 1950

• 1950 · Three boys in Harlem, 1943Gordon Parks, U.S. Office of War InformationNo known restrictions, Library of CongressSource
• 1965 · Wilt Chamberlain, 1959Fred Palumbo, New York World-Telegram & SunPublic domainSource
• 1970 · Julius Erving, 1975Ann Chwatsky, The Sporting News ArchivesPublic domainSource
• 2011 · Kevin Durant dunking, March 2011Keith AllisonCC BY-SA 2.0Source

The legends

• The Hawk · Connie Hawkins, 1962Unknown author, The Sporting News ArchivesPublic domainSource
• Black Moses · Julius Erving, 1976Unknown author, NBA press photoPublic domainSource
• Tiny · Nate Archibald, 1974Malcolm W. Emmons, The Sporting News ArchivesPublic domainSource
• Fly · James Williams, 1974Austin Peay State University yearbookPublic domainSource
• Lord of the Rings · Kobe Bryant, 1999Steve Lipofsky, Basketballphoto.comCC BY-SA 3.0Source
• Skip to My Lou · Rafer AlstonKeith AllisonCC BY-SA 2.0Source
• The Goat · Earl Manigault, 1989CharliesamuelsCC BY 3.0Source

Getting there

• West 155th StreetMagnus BäckCC BY 3.0Source

AI-generated images

• The opening picture: Rucker Park in the 1970s (labelled on the page)
• 1974: kids at the gate of Holcombe Rucker Park (labelled on the page)
• 1982: courtside at a summer game (labelled on the page)
• 2021: the renovated court at dusk (labelled on the page)
• The arm that takes the dollar (a film made with Google’s Veo)
• The summer posters, the street sign and the ticket
• The dollar bill, the backboard of the first page, the court and backboard surfaces, the net and the fence

All of these were made with Google’s Gemini image model, the arm with Google’s Veo. None of them shows a real person. The legends’ faces were enlarged with Real-ESRGAN, an upscaler; nothing in them was generated.

Type

Anton, Archivo, Alfa Slab One, Big Shoulders Stencil, Yellowtail and Overpass, under the SIL Open Font License.