These Are Brooklyn's 36 Worst Basketball Courts

Wall Street Journal reporter Stu Woo took on the Herculean task, with just two weeks and a bicycle, of surveying all Brooklyn’s basketball courts — then ranking them all from zero to 100.

In short, he says, “About a third of the courts are in good shape. The rest have issues.”

And ”the most common problems,” he says, “were bent baskets and faded paint. The worst playing surfaces had cracks so wide that weeds grew out of them.”

Below we’ve listed the courts that Woo ranked between zero and 40, a score which translates to: ”Not worth the MetroCard fare.”

Here they are, from worse to worst:

36. Kolbert Playground, Midwood (40)

35. Ethan Allen Playground, East New York (40)

34. Oracle Playground, Fort Greene (40)

33. Greene Playground, Clinton Hill (39)

32. Bridge Park, Downtown Brooklyn (39)

31. Martin Luther Playground, Sunset Park (39)

30. Dome Playground, Borough Park (38)

29. Sumner Playground, Bed-Stuy (38)

28. Mellett Playground, Sheepshead Bay (37)

27. Wilson Playground, Canarsie (37)

26. Eleanor Roosevelt Playground, Bed-Stuy (36)

25. McCarren Park at Bedford Avenue, Williamsburg (35)

24. Dr. Green Playground, Brownsville (35)

23. Ten Eyck Playground, East Williamsburg (34)

22. Gonzalo Plasencia Playground, Sunset Park (34)

21. Neptune Playground, Coney Island (34)

20. John Allen Payne Park, Sunset Park (34)

19. Schenck Playground, East New York (33)

18. Willoughby Playground Bed-Stuy (33)

17. Grace Playground, East New York (33)

16. Bath Beach Park, Bath Beach (33)

15. Benson Playground, Bath Beach (32)

14. Coffey Park, Red Hook (32)

13. Roebling Playground, Williamsburg (32)

12. Stroud Playground, Crown Heights (32)

11. Homecrest Playground, Sheepshead Bay (31)

10. Luna Park, Coney Island (30)

9. Glenwood Playground, Canarsie (29)

8. Sperandeo Brothers Playground, East New York (29)

7. Pena Herrera Park, Sunset Park (29)

6. Stockton Playground, Bed-Stuy (29)

5. Marcy Park South, Williamsburg (28)

4. Patrick O’Rourke Park, Dyker Heights (26)

3. Saratoga Ballfields, Crown Heights (22)

2. Woodruff Playground, East New York (21)

1. Bath Playground, Bath Beach (17)

All these courts are managed by New York City’s Department of Parks and Recreation. We’ve reached out to the department for comment on the WSJ’s allegations that two-thirds of Brooklyn basketball courts are in bad shape.

Head over to the WSJ’s website for a full interactive map of all 172 courts in Brooklyn.