Best place to play pickup basketball

Street basketball is hot on the playgrounds of Greater Boston, fostering forms of social and physical interaction that run from the leisurely rhythms of hack playing to the ass-biting rigor of aggressive pickup games. At the top of the list of places to play for poll respondents are the Jim Bradley Courts, two well-maintained, full-length courts located at Park Drive and Jersey Street in the midst of the Back Bay Fens. The pickup games here -- one for serious, competitive players and the other for athletes still trying to sink a good jump shot -- draw a diverse crowd of players from neighborhoods all around town and from all walks of life. The spectators who fill the green bleachers also reflect the city's diversity, and on any given day the intensity of play often rivals those sluggish NBA highlights on the nightly news.

Jim Bradley Courts, Park Drive and Jersey Street, Boston.