To be an athlete requires skill determination and dedication to the craft. It is an art form in its own right, and to be an athlete is a physical endeavor with lifetime effects. From childhood the ability to partake in athletics as a pastime can be therapeutic, cathartic, and a source of joy especially for Black men of all socioeconomic backgrounds. When the race is considered within athleticism, the weight of the documented history of the Black male body rears its head. Black joy is stripped under the white gaze, and caricature and stereotype take the forefront. The Black male athlete has been objectified even through childhood, their physical bodies have been sexualized and exploited but also seen as scary or intimidating. When two or more Black men or boys are gathered together in a setting whether it be to participate in a pastime that brings joy and release or simply just to have leisure, in the wrong setting they still can be seen as a potential threat needing to be relocated, reprimanded, or removed. This piece is to celebrate the poeticism, fluidity, and ultimate joy that comes from watching the cousins I grew up with engage in play centering a basketball. I also gave space in allowing the material to showcase the reality of the dangers Black men face, using gun and bullet metals, tools used defensively and offensively depending on the hands that use them.