Regular Hoops Puts Spotlight on Streetball

Want to turn an athlete into a philosopher on the spot? Ask them if sports is a great equalizer. 

They’ll likely say something that feels like a Nike commercial. It doesn’t matter who you are. What you look like. If you’re rich or you're poor. When you’re out there playing, none of that matters. What matters is that you can perform.

It’s an optimistic sentiment, but is certainly more true for some sports more than for others. There are clear economic and geographical barriers to certain sports — skiers, Formula One drivers, and parents of horse girls know this very well. 

Basketball is different. Daniel Aboul-Hassan runs the Instagram account @regularhoops, turning a spotlight on New York City street basketball and proving that the sport may be one of the greatest equalizers of them all. 

Aboul-Hassan is a lifelong basketball fan, and in 2022 he began documenting the world of NYC streetball. Spending the summer in New York for an internship, he and his roommate would head to the Kips Bay Courts and Chrystie Street Courts to play pickup games after work. He thrived off of the contagious, chaotic energy of the basketball scene. He became a regular at the courts, finding a home within the vibrant cast of characters who make up the city’s hoops culture. 

Looking back, Aboul-Hassan remarked, “It [felt] like I found my people on the basketball court.” 

Immersing himself in the comfortable, dynamic community of hoopers, Aboul-Hassan couldn’t shake the feeling that there was something special happening each time the regular players stepped out on the courts. Yet, he could tell that so many people — both players and not — believed the NBA was the manifestation of real basketball culture, and he wanted to change this mindset. 

“I realized that basketball culture is made up of regular people. It doesn't matter your age, your status, or ability. You can meet other students, corporate executives, even celebrities on the basketball courts in New York City, and there were so many amazing moments that I had on the basketball courts here that I just wanted to share,” Aboul-Hassan said.

One day while Aboul-Hassan was waiting to get in a game, he decided to just start filming. At first, some of the players were confused. Cracking a smile, he shared an anecdote that his filming was initially met with a lot of confusion and even self-deprecation. 

“I liked it 'cause it was always confusing to people,” Aboul-Hassan said. “People would say ‘Why are you filming me? What’s going on? I'm not good. I’m not in the NBA’ and then I would just say ‘Hey, I'm making a mixtape of just you and like all the other people playing here, just focused on regular people.’ As soon as I explained what I'm doing, I received nothing but positivity and support.” 

Aboul-Hassan continued filming streetball content over the summer, and he didn’t stop when he returned to University of Michigan to finish his senior year. Three years later, he lives in Manhattan and Regular Hoops has gained considerable traction with the NYC streetball community. 

A regular face — and now friend — in Regular Hoops videos is iconic streetball player George Papoutsis, also known as “George the Messiah.”

Google “George the Messiah” and lots of results will pop up. The most recent one, published in March 2025, is a Sports Illustrated article recapping the game between former NBA player Brian Scalabrine and George the Messiah at The Cage on West 4th Street. 

The Messiah lost to Scalabrine, but the game made waves in the basketball community as former Celtics players and teammates of Scalabrine, like Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce, shared their take on the game. 

In a video shared on Instagram Garnett said: “I thought it was great for basketball, especially outdoor basketball, like blacktop. We don’t even do that no more. We need to bring that back.”

When asked about The Messiah, Aboul-Hassan smiles knowingly and acknowledges The Messiah is known for his trash talk but his game backs it up — one of the reasons people love watching his content. “ He’s a funny guy, very down to earth, and a humble guy as well. People don't really know that about him because on the cameras he's yelling a lot, but outside of the basketball court, he's one of the nicest guys. He's got a crazy story with basketball and how he got to where he is.”  

Since day one, Aboul-Hassan has been focused on using Regular Hoops as a vehicle for players to share their story and see themselves portrayed in basketball culture. 

“When I go to film regular people, I don't care about their status. I don't care how many followers they have. I don't care how much money they have. To me, everybody's just a Regular Hooper, and I kind of approach them with that mentality,” Aboul-Hassan stated. 

This authentic, down-to-earth approach has led to an inbound of opportunities for Aboul-Hassan. Most recently, he teamed up with  NBA Europe, hosting an NYC basketball tour for them. 

“NBA Europe had a French content creator come to New York and we showed them around the city; took them to a lot of historical courts in New York. Showed them all the classic food spots, the underrated food spots, the underrated basketball courts. We were basketball tour guides,” Aboul-Hassan said.

The video of this tour will be released on YouTube in the upcoming weeks. In the meantime, Aboul-Hassan is busy growing the Regular Hoops community.

“ I want people to know we can impact basketball culture, we deserve to feel seen in the culture because we’re the ones pushing it forward,” Aboul-Hassan said. “Without us playing and us loving the sport for what it is, there is no culture. I really want people to take ownership over that and to be proud of the love that they have for the game.”