As the gym fills with noise, an almost eerie vibe settles into the air. Fog covers one of the entrances, blocking all sight from the eyes of eager viewers. Swiv’s voice booms over the speaker, drowning out the noise of the crowd. Six men dressed in yellow jerseys and basketball shorts come jogging out from the fog: “Let’s all put our hands together for the Harlem Wizards!”

This year’s game between the Harlem Wizards and the D158 Shooting Stars took place today at 6 p.m. The Harlem Wizards came out onto the court guns blazing, winning the first quarter 26-11, and having nearly double the score of the Shooting Stars in the second quarter with a score of 35-19. To make the game fair and fun for all, the Shooting Stars were soon given 20 points for every basket they made, allowing them to take the lead in the third quarter with a 68-51 lead. In the end, the Shooting Stars took the win with a score of 83-78.

This game was not about the score though. It was not really even about basketball either. This game was all about the families and the kids that showed up to watch this hilarious event.

For those that do not know, the annual game between the Harlem Wizards and the D158 Shooting Stars is a basketball game played between the teachers, coaches, staff, and administrators of the school district, and professional basketball players. This is done with cool talent, mind blowing tricks, and humor all thrown into the mix to give children and families a great time together.

The Harlem Wizards knew just how to show kids and their families a good time. During their hilarious game, the Wizards implemented tons of fun activities and gut-busting humor for kids to just have a good time.

Wizards player Dwayne ‘Swoop’ Simpson was the center of the show, creating the most laughs for the audience.

Swoop was not the only Wizard making the audience laugh, though. Accompanying him in his quest for giggles were his teammates Leon ‘Space Jam’ Sewell, John ‘Big J’ Smith, Kenneth ‘Blenda’ Rodriguez, Roscoe ‘Sarge’ Johnson Jr., and Lloyd ‘Loonatik’ Clinton.

Together, the six players were an unstoppable force of comedic power.

This family friendly event could not have taken place, though, without the help of the D158 Educational Board; they put together the Harlem Wizards event in order to raise funds towards education.

“The educational board raises funds for supporting teacher grants and student scholarships for the benefit of education for District 158,” said organizer Roger Schroepfer. “It’s a fun event for kids. We had a lot of people that had come last year and came back this year because they enjoyed it so much.”