La Cage aux Joueurs: The Secret New York Alternative to the New York Knicks

With their huge paychecks, pristine gear and endorsement deals, do you ever feel like professional basketball players are losing their edge?

Court seats at Madison Square Garden go for $1600/ticket, but there's a way to get even closer to the action without spending a penny. It's called "streetball" and one of the most famous courts in NYC is in the West Village.

"The Cage" on the corner of Sixth Avenue and West 4th Street is about half the size of a regulation basketball court. Fans oblivious to the pedestrian traffic stand clutching the fence, looking for the next Anthony Mason or Smush Parker, who were both once regulars. Reviewers on www.basketballnyc.com give The Cage high "prison yard" ratings of physicality, meaning that showmanship is more important than sportsmanship.

Think of Gray's Papaya one block north as your concession stand. Its iconic $1.25 franks beat out the $6 MSG variety any day of the week.

If you're equal parts skilled, brave and patient you can try to get in on one of the pick up games, but rusty first timers won't last (as in, they'll be told to leave). Fortunately the court is open 24 hours a day, so if you have a basketball, a nocturnal buddy (in my case Matt Millman) and some steam to burn, just show up in the middle of the night and it's all yours.

The court happens to be located in one of the most charming and historically rich neighborhoods of the city, Greenwich Village, which is featured in my charming and historically rich walking tour book Secret New York.

Link for Secret New York