Q&A with Troy Douglass, co-owner of Back to the Basket.
Troy Douglass, who is half Native American (from the Grand Ronde tribe) and half Filipino, was born in Portland and raised in the suburbs in Rivergrove. Growing up, his parents loved the Blazers. Troy was always watching games on BlazerVision; he remembers manually changing the cable box from channel 3 all the way up channel 52 [BlazerVision] to get his fix. He grew up in the ‘90s, which was the Jordan era. Not only did he love the game of basketball, he was good at it. He played throughout his childhood and at Lakeridge High School and also played on Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) basketball teams. He currently lives in downtown Portland with his partner, Sydney, and their son, Taj, who also loves basketball. He and his friend Jalen Thomas started Back to the Basket in 2020.
What’s the story of this place?
This store has been around for four years. Actually, October 12th is our official four year anniversary. But really, it’s allowing my 12-year-old self to stay alive. This is exactly what my inner 12 year old wanted. This store is telling the story of basketball from the perspective of someone that’s becoming past their prime. That was the original ethos of the business, which is why it was first called “Ball Was Life.” That name was a tongue-in-cheek satire of the name “Ball is Life,” which is a big company in Los Angeles. They ended up sending us a cease and desist letter because they said our name was too similar so we had to pivot—get the basketball reference?—and change our name to Back to the Basket.
You mentioned the ethos was basketball from the perspective of someone on the decline?
A lot of times, at least in athletics, you have that reflection moment when you look back at your career. So a lot of the stuff that we do is vintage, old-school stuff.
What is it about basketball culture that’s special?
I think it’s transcended the world. I think the game of basketball has an ability to connect people. I went to the Philippines in 2015 and played barefoot in Manila. On the court at four o’clock, the hoops get pushed out to the middle of the street, and the jeepneys and the tricycles move around the game. They respect the game so much that the flow of traffic moves around the game. It was the most beautiful thing I ever experienced, just being in the middle of the city and watching everything give way to basketball.
How did this store come to be?
I had another store at Lloyd Center that I opened in 2018. It was called Cultural Blends. I sold sports gear—football and baseball and streetwear type stuff—but I was just filling the space because it was 1200 square feet. I learned I only really liked selling things that I feel passionate about. I’ve been to Timbers games but I couldn’t tell you the Timbers players. But I was selling Timbers gear, you know? I didn’t feel good about selling it. Someone would come up and be like, “Oh man, this player, blah, blah, blah.” And I was like, “Yeah….” I say that to say I didn’t like that feeling. I just wanted to focus on things that I was truly passionate about. And the game of basketball—I speak that language fluently. So I felt comfortable opening up a buy-sell-trade store that was focused on something that I was truly passionate about when I was 12 and what I’m passionate about now. That love of the game hasn’t gone away.
What is it about Portland that contributes to your success?
I think the eclectic nature of the entire city. I think this shop bodes well in Portland because the city has a basketball culture. You really feel the passion, and you can really sense that basketball nerds live here. I think that bodes well because it’s cool, but it’s also not pretentious cool.
What do you love about being in Sunnyside?
Oh, I love it because you have a super eclectic neighborhood and I think we fit in well. We’re the basketball guys, but we’re not the basketball guys who get shunned, you know, like, “Oh man, those jocks!” It’s not like that. We are a part of the community, and we definitely represent basketball in a way that I think bodes well for the future.
So you’re trying to help locals by giving basketball fans a bigger canvas on which to practice their alternative selves.
One hundred percent. This is a place where a basketball geek can nerd out, a sneaker head can nerd out. This is a place where a lover of the game could be like, “Oh, this place is cool!” and it’s definitely a good place to build community.
Tell me about the communities you’re developing.
We host an event called Hoops in the Park. It’s basically pickup basketball but with nodes of networking. We encourage people to shake hands, to talk to each other, and really build a network. I used to go to networking events, and there was a lot of thinking like, “Are you going to be of value to me?” I thought that wasn’t the right approach. Instead, I want an approach of getting to know somebody, what they’re interested in, and then ask, “What do you do?” Human first, endeavor second.
Human first, endeavor second. Dang, that’s tight!
That’s the most important thing. You’ve got to know the human because… I don’t know, that’s the way. I don’t know how to describe it, but that’s the way.
You can follow Back to the Basket on Instagram at @backtothebasketdotcom
The store is at 3405 SE Hawthorne Blvd. It is open Mon–Sat. 11–7 p.m. and Sun 11–5 p.m.
