Ballin'

Tom DuBois, the Freemans' mild-mannered neighbour and a recurring character throughout the series, coaches a youth basketball team that Riley decides to join. The pairing puts the street-smart, competitive Riley under the authority of a buttoned-up lawyer — a clash of worlds that generates the episode's comedy. The series regularly uses Tom as a foil for the Freeman boys' chaotic energy.

Source: The Boondocks season 2 — Wikipedia (episode summary: "Riley joins Tom's youth basketball team")

The episode's moral — discipline and teamwork over flashy individualism — is a deliberate inversion of Riley's usual priorities. The show uses organised sport as a vehicle for character growth: Riley, who typically equates success with street credibility and intimidation, learns that there is value in structure and cooperation. The lesson is built into the plot rather than preached.

Source: The Boondocks season 2 — Wikipedia (episode summary: "discovers the benefits of practice and team play")

Dan Fausett directed several second-season episodes, alternating with Seung Eun Kim as the season's directors. Fausett's work on the series includes "The Story of Thugnificent," "Shinin'," and "The Story of Catcher Freeman," among others. His direction on "Ballin'" gives the basketball sequences a kinetic energy that distinguishes the episode from the series' more dialogue-driven instalments.

Source: The Boondocks season 2 — Wikipedia (episode list credits Dan Fausett as director)

Series creator Aaron McGruder wrote the story for most episodes of the season, with screenplays by a rotating team of writers. Jason Van Veen and André Brooks, who co-wrote the teleplay for this episode, contributed to several episodes across the series. The story-by / screenplay-by separation reflects the production structure of the season, where McGruder provided the narrative blueprint and the writing team executed the script.

Source: The Boondocks season 2 — Wikipedia (episode list credits)

The title places the episode squarely in the basketball setting that drives its plot. The second season of The Boondocks aired on Adult Swim from October 2007 to March 2008, with "Ballin'" premiering on December 3, 2007 — a Monday night in the show's regular timeslot.

Source: The Boondocks season 2 — Wikipedia (episode title and air date)

The production code 209 places this episode in the second batch of the season's production order. The codes are assigned during production rather than broadcast order, and the sequence gives insight into which episodes were produced together. Ballin' shares its production period with other Dan Fausett-directed episodes.

Source: The Boondocks season 2 — Wikipedia (episode list includes production code 209)