How do I find a pickup basketball game in Atlanta?

Start with the gyms that publish a schedule

Most venues never post a basketball time. Of the 1,407 Georgia courts and gyms in our directory, 26 publish an open-gym schedule or a price in writing. That short list is where to start, because it is the only part of the metro you can actually plan around.

• Ebster Recreation Center, Decatur — adult basketball Tuesdays and Thursdays 10am–2pm, Saturdays 10am–1pm, Sundays 3–5:45pm.
• Oakhurst Recreation Center, Decatur — Thursdays 7–9pm, Saturdays noon–2pm, Sundays 3–6pm. The only published weeknight evening slot in the city.
• Bill Johnson Community Activity Building, Roswell — Tuesdays and Thursdays 6–7:30pm, Saturdays 10am–4:30pm.
• Hembree Park Recreation Center, Roswell — basketball open play Mondays and Wednesdays, 10am–8pm.
• Acworth Community Center — free drop-in on two high-school-regulation courts.
• Briarwood and Lynwood in Brookhaven — free supervised drop-in, on a monthly calendar rather than fixed weekly hours.
• Gwinnett County gyms — Best Friend Park, Rhodes Jordan, Lenora Park, George Pierce Park and Bogan Park — open gym during building hours, $2.25 for adults.

Every one of those cities says in writing that open play is not guaranteed and can be bumped for leagues, rentals or holidays. A 30-second phone call beats a 40-minute drive.

Know the City of Atlanta gap

If you live inside the city, this is the thing worth knowing: Atlanta Parks & Recreation does not publish open-gym times or adult drop-in prices for its rec centers. The city's recreation-center directory lists building hours and a phone number. Its adult basketball page covers organised leagues, not drop-in.

That does not mean there is no run at Central Park, Grant Park, C.T. Martin or Rosel Fann. It means the phone is the only way to find out. We list every city rec center we track with its address, so you can start from the closest one.

Outdoor, if you just want to show up

We list 38 City of Atlanta park courts. Six we have confirmed have lights, which is the thing that matters after work:

• Chastain Park, Buckhead — four hoops, lit
• Frankie Allen Park, Buckhead — lit
• Bessie Branham Park, Kirkwood — lit
• Historic Fourth Ward Park — lit
• Old Fourth Ward Skatepark courts — four hoops, lit
• Perkerson Park, Sylvan Hills — lit

Piedmont Park has four hoops and Candler Park two, but neither is lit, so both are daylight runs. On the rest of the city's park courts we have not confirmed lighting either way, and we would rather say that than guess.

Or stop guessing

The honest problem with all three routes above is that they end in "call and hope". That is why the Pickup app exists: it shows the runs happening near you this week, who is in, and how many spots are left. If there is nothing near you, you can host one and fill it.