Sometimes they called him “Hollywood,” sometimes they called him ”A-Butta” or “Whole Lotta Game.” But one thing we know about Adrian Walton is that everyone calls him a streetball legend at Harlem’s Rucker Park. Walton, 44, played guard for the Fordham University Rams during the 2001-02 season, but now he’s posting up in a new game: teaching financial literacy and providing support to his community.
Last year, he released “A Whole Lotta Game: From Rucker to Revenue – Building Business the Streetball Way,” a book he hoped would provide helpful lessons about building a successful business mindset, drawing on his life experiences.
“Whether you’re launching your first hustle, trying to level up your current business, or just need a reminder that greatness comes from grit, my book makes you think bigger, move smarter, and win louder,” Walton said about the book. “Because the court may be where it started but the revenue is where it multiples.”
But literature is just one avenue through which Walton, who has lived on 138th St all of his life, is giving back. Since last year, he has managed programs with kids from 8-21 in Boys and Girls Club at Kips Bay Boys and Madison, Dream Center NYC, and Dyckman basketball. Being a part of these groups is how he says he can help Harlem cultivate its greatness. Through his childhood, it was a regular thing for him to run into talented people who would go on to be famous within a two- or three-block radius.
“I grew up on 138th. If I turned the corner on 139th, I would see Big L. If I walked to 139th and Lenox, I would see Mase. If I walk to 140th, I would see Cam’ron. On Seventh Avenue, if I just walked to 136th St, I would see Teyana Taylor,” he said. “That’s the great thing about Harlem, we got a lot of hidden gems right here.”
Walton has made many big-name friends through his life growing up in Harlem and gaining prominence at Rucker Park, including rappers Fat Joe, Cam’ron, and fellow basketballer Joakim Noah. He now looks to use those connections to act as a liaison for the Harlem community and the youth in giving resources.
In August, Walton connected the youth in his programs to the Hidden Opportunity Summit through a friend, financial advisor Jordan Awoye. Pastor Mike Waldron of First Corinthians Baptist Church has also been a mentor for Walton in finding his purpose.
“He’s motivated me to realize how big I am and who I am, and what my legendary status means, and how I can utilize that to help my people,” Walton said.
A Basketball Life
He first started playing at the St. Mark’s Church court around 12 after learning from a local lemonade man named Alexis, and later played for the Riverside Church AAU Gaucho and then at Rucker at age 17, under Tony Rosa, where he would go on to win three straight EBC Tournament championships.
Around the summer of 1999, at 18, he played against Vince Carter, who went on to be NBA Rookie of the Year, and outscored him, putting up 40 points in a team game. At the time, Rucker Park was at peak popularity. Athletes like Kobe Bryant, Baron Davis, Stephon Marbury, Jamal Tinsley, would hang out at the park and play with him. Others like Fat Joe, Jay Z, and Beyonce would visit.
He would go on to play at Fordham on an athletic scholarship, alongside NBA player Williams “Smush” Parker. He would leave after one year and was unable to regain Division 1 eligibility, which he attributed to not having an agent and individuals withholding information from him. He says this is a lesson he teaches to youth interested in basketball. He later played briefly at Riverside Community College in California.
He would continue to play pro basketball in New York, through the United States Basketball League and the Continental Basketball Association, but that was short lived as he says he did not want to leave his family by playing overseas. He wants to impart to young people who want to have basketball in their lives that it does not have to be only about making it to the NBA.
“I’m trying to show people that the word pro doesn’t mean make it to the league or make it rapid. It means professional,” Walton, who is also working on a Netflix documentary said.
According to Walton, while the culture of street ball is not as prominent today, the business end where community leaders such as himself and others like Michelle Smalls — who has hosted successful tournaments in recent years — can sustain themselves from their efforts.
He gives credit to streetball legends before him, such as Joe Hammond, but also wants to carve a more positive legacy of giving back to the community.
Through his podcast, “Street First,” which he launched in 2016, Walton has aimed to bring notable friends and other community members and business leaders who can share and inform about the work and available opportunities for the community, the kids in particular. Recently, he has had Jessica Spaulding of the Harlem Chocolate Factory and chef Alex Strickland of Make My Fish, as well as celebrities like Dave East, Yandy Smith, and Fat Joe.
“These people need to be highlighted, because our people need to be able to see that there’s other things that we can do,” Walton said. He believes that by connecting notables with others doing important work is a way to bridge the gap. “It’s not that they don’t do stuff for the community all along, but who makes them look cool doing it, that’s what the community gravitates to.”
Adrian Walton aka A Butta has been very instrumental in continuing to bring exposure to not Just the golden era of street basketball but educating the current youth in the community. Thank you
I always heard of A Butta as we always had 1 degree of seperation. To know Adrian now is knowing someone who truly cares for his community and uses his past to assist in the growth of ALL who are interested. 🫡
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Great to see this he has been working very hard to get his message across to everyone young to elders especially in the community of Harlem. Proud to see him working hard to make changes.