The Basketball Tournament

Last updated
The Basketball Tournament
Most recent season or competition:
The Basketball Tournament 2023
The Basketball Tournament logo.png
Sport Basketball
Founded2014
FounderJonathan Mugar
No. of teams64 (2023 tournament)
Countries United States
Most recent
champion(s)
Heartfire (2023)
Most titles Overseas Elite (4)
TV partner(s) ESPN
Tournament format Single-elimination
Official website thetournament.com

The Basketball Tournament (TBT) is an open-application, single-elimination tournament played each summer in the United States. The most recent 2023 edition featured 64 teams with a $1 million winner-take-all prize, broadcast by ESPN. TBT was founded in 2014 by Jonathan Mugar. [1]

Contents

Format

Teams in TBT are arranged by the general manager, sometimes based on which college basketball program the players competed for. The tournament has had as many as 97 teams, in 2015, and as few as 24 teams, in 2020. Since 2016, the tournament has most often used a 64-team field. In 2019, the 64 teams were divided into eight regions, with each regional winner advancing to the championship venue. [2] In 2020, the tournament field was reduced to 24 teams with all games played at a single venue, due to the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States. [3] In 2021, the 64 teams were organized into four regions, with each region's top two teams advancing to the championship venue. The 2022 event returned to the former eight-region format, with the eight regional winners advancing to what TBT organizers call "Championship Week", with quarterfinals at two sites followed by semifinals and the final at the championship venue. [4]

The championship prize money was originally $500,000 in 2014, [1] was increased to $1 million in 2015, and was $2 million from 2016 through 2019. Since 2020, the top prize has been $1 million. The prize money goes to the winning team's personnel. There are also prizes for the top 1,000 bracket entries submitted by fans that score the most points through their picks, on a deescalating scale starting at $4,000 for the winner. [5] The 2019 tournament included prizes other than the overall winner-take-all purse; each regional winner received 25% of its region's ticket proceeds. [2]

Overseas Elite (in white) during the 2017 title game TBT 2017 final 03-Aug-2017.jpg
Overseas Elite (in white) during the 2017 title game
Tournament field by year
YearField size (teams)Finals locationWinner's prize
2014 32 Boston, MA $500,000
2015 97 Bronx, NY $1,000,000
2016 64$2,000,000
2017 64 Baltimore, MD
2018 72
2019 64 Chicago, IL
2020 24 Columbus, OH $1,000,000
2021 64 Dayton, OH
2022
2023 Philadelphia, PA

Defending champion received a play-in to the round-of-16
Four teams in the field of 64 select via a 16-team two-round play-in

Rules

TBT uses a modified version of NCAA men's basketball rules. As of the 2019 edition, the most significant exceptions were: [6]

Players

TBT has had a number of current and former NBA players participate, including Hakim Warrick, Jason Williams, Dahntay Jones, Mike Bibby, Royal Ivey, Matt Bonner, Jimmer Fredette, and Brian Scalabrine. [9] [10] Former WNBA player Nikki Teasley played in the 2014 tournament. [11] The 2018 tournament included the basketball return of Greg Oden, who last played in the Chinese Basketball Association during their 2015–16 season. [12] The 2019 tournament had been expected to be the first to feature an active female professional. Megan Gustafson, who had been cut by the Dallas Wings before the 2019 WNBA season, was slated to play for Iowa United, a team made up primarily of alumni of the state's four NCAA Division I schools. [13] However, due to a rash of early-season injuries on the team, the Wings re-signed her in mid-June, ruling her out of TBT. [14]

Many teams feature professional players reunited under a former college or university name, with teams representing Arkansas, Bellarmine, Bradley, Buffalo, Cincinnati, Dayton, Georgetown, Gonzaga, Iowa State, Kansas State, Louisville, Marquette, Miami, Marshall, Milwaukee, New Mexico, North Texas, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Purdue, Seton Hall, Syracuse, Texas Tech, UCLA, VCU, West Virginia, Wichita State, Xavier and many others. Teams have received fan support from active NBA players such as Kyle Lowry [11] and Obi Toppin. [15] Five alumni teams have won TBT—Buffalo, Marquette, Notre Dame, Ohio State, and Syracuse.

In 2016, NBA players such as John Wall, Kristaps Porzingis, Rudy Gay, Shaun Livingston, Chandler Parsons, and Austin Rivers served as boosters for different teams. [16] In 2017, Carmelo Anthony acted as host for the tournament in Baltimore, where he played high school basketball. [17] 2019 saw even more NBA involvement, with Chris Paul (Team CP3) and DeMarcus Cousins (Loyalty Is Love) both entering teams, while Bobby Portis and Andre Drummond coached TBT sides.

Ram Nation advancing its name on the bracket 2017 07 09 TBT game 4 NIX 446.jpg
Ram Nation advancing its name on the bracket

Bracket celebration

At the conclusion of each game, the winning team advances its placard on a giant bracket to the next round. The bracket resembles the All Valley Karate Tournament bracket found in The Karate Kid . [18]

After pleas from ESPN analyst Fran Fraschilla, Yahoo Sports columnist Jeff Eisenberg, and SportsCenter host Scott Van Pelt, [19] the NCAA adopted the ritual for March Madness in 2018. [20] [21] After the game, a portable bracket was brought into the winning team's locker room. One player, or a group of players, advanced the team to the next round. Oftentimes, the celebration was posted on social media. [22] The bracket celebration also took place in the Frozen Four of the 2018 NCAA Hockey Tournament. [23]

Champions

On June 28, 2014, Notre Dame Fighting Alumni won the inaugural TBT championship, defeating Team Barstool, 72–68. The winning team, represented by several former Fighting Irish players, including MVP Tyrone Nash, [24] donated $40,000 to Coaches vs. Cancer. [11]

On August 2, 2015, Overseas Elite defeated Team 23, 67–65, to take the second annual TBT title. [25] D. J. Kennedy, who played college basketball for St. John's, was named MVP. [26]

2014 MVP Tyrone Nash Tyrone Nash 2, 2018.jpg
2014 MVP Tyrone Nash

Overseas Elite was able to repeat as TBT champions by defeating Team Colorado, 77–72, on August 2, 2016, to claim the $2 million prize; Arizona alumnus Kyle Fogg was named MVP. [27]

On August 3, 2017, Overseas Elite beat Team Challenge ALS, 86–83, to become three-time TBT champions, with Fogg again being named MVP. [28]

On August 3, 2018, Overseas Elite won their fourth consecutive final, defeating Eberlein Drive, 70–58, [29] with D. J. Kennedy being named MVP for the second time. [30]

The 2019 final was played on August 6 and pitted the Marquette alumni team, Golden Eagles, against Ohio State alumni team Carmen's Crew, whom had defeated the reigning four-time champion Overseas Elite to advance to the final. Carmen's Crew went on to defeat Golden Eagles, 66–60. [31] William Buford of Carmen's Crew was named MVP.

The 2020 final, played on July 14 in Columbus, Ohio, matched Golden Eagles, appearing in their second consecutive TBT title game, and Sideline Cancer, defeating Overseas Elite to appear in their first. The game was won by Golden Eagles, 78–73. Darius Johnson-Odom of the Golden Eagles was named MVP.

The 2021 final was held on August 3 in Dayton, Ohio, with Boeheim's Army (Syracuse) defeating Team 23, 69–67; the winning shot was made by Keifer Sykes. [32] Team 23 became the first team to lose two TBT finals. Tyrese Rice of Boeheim's Army was named MVP. [33]

The 2022 final was held on August 2, again in Dayton, between Blue Collar U (Buffalo) and Autism Army. [34] Blue Collar U outscored Autism Army in every quarter and won the game, 89–67. [35] The winning points came on a dunk by Montell McRae. [36] C. J. Massinburg of Blue Collar U was named MVP. [37]

Champions of The Basketball Tournament
YearChampionScoreRunner-upMVP
2014 Notre Dame Fighting Alumni72–68Team Barstool Tyrone Nash
2015 Overseas Elite 67–65 Team 23 D. J. Kennedy
2016 Overseas Elite 77–72Team Colorado Kyle Fogg
2017 Overseas Elite 86–83Team Challenge ALS
2018 Overseas Elite 70–58 Eberlein Drive D. J. Kennedy
2019 Carmen's Crew 66–60 Golden Eagles William Buford
2020 Golden Eagles 78–73Sideline Cancer Darius Johnson-Odom
2021 Boeheim's Army 69–67 Team 23 Tyrese Rice
2022 Blue Collar U 89–67Autism Army C. J. Massinburg
2023 Heartfire78–73Bleed Green Brandon Jefferson

Championship game records

Justin Burrell advancing Overseas Elite's name on the bracket after winning the 2017 championship DK5 8672.jpg
Justin Burrell advancing Overseas Elite's name on the bracket after winning the 2017 championship

Teams are ordered by number of appearances.

Team appearances in The Basketball Tournament championships
TeamAppearancesRecordYears (won / lost)
Overseas Elite 44–02015, 2016, 2017, 2018
Golden Eagles 21–12019, 2020
Team 23 20–22015, 2021
Blue Collar U 11–02022
Boeheim's Army 11–02021
Carmen's Crew 11–02019
Heartfire11–02023
Notre Dame Fighting Alumni11–02014
Aitism Army10–12022
Team Barstool10–12014
Bleed Green10–12023
Team Colorado10–12016
Team Challenge ALS10–12017
Eberlein Drive 10–12018
Sideline Cancer10–12020

On October 11, 2022, tournament owner and organizer TBT Enterprises announced that it would extend the TBT concept to soccer, announcing The Soccer Tournament, a 7-on-7 summer tournament that began on schedule in 2023. Like TBT, TST has a winner-take-all prize of $1 million. TST started with 32 teams, with a group phase followed by a 16-team knockout tournament.

Matches are played on a reduced-size field with slightly smaller goals than normal and consist of 20-minute halves. The Elam Ending has been adapted to a soccer setting; after the end of the second half, the remainder of the match consists of "Target Score Time", with the target score being set by adding one goal to the leading (or tied) team's score. The game ends once the target score is reached by either team. If the target is not reached after 5 minutes, one player from each team exits the field, with the process continuing every 5 minutes until each side is reduced to 2 players or the winning goal is scored, whichever comes first. [38] [39]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">D. J. Kennedy</span> American professional basketball player

David John Kennedy is an American professional basketball player for Prometey of the Latvian-Estonian Basketball League. He played college basketball for St. John's University.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Paris Horne</span> American basketball player

Paris L. Horne is an American professional basketball player who last played for Kouvot of the Finnish Korisliiga. Horne played college basketball at St. John's University. He has played for BG Gottingen in Germany and competed at the FIBA EuroChallenge 2012.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kyle Fogg</span> American basketball player

Kyle Fogg is an American professional basketball player for the Liaoning Flying Leopards of the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA). He played college basketball for the Arizona Wildcats.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Overseas Elite</span> Basketball team

Overseas Elite was an American basketball team that participated in The Basketball Tournament (TBT), an annual winner-take-all single-elimination tournament. The team won the tournament four consecutive times: 2015, 2016, 2017, and 2018. The roster of Overseas Elite consisted of professional basketball players who competed outside of the NBA. The team last competed in 2020.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Team 23</span> Basketball team in Phoenix, Arizona

Team 23 is an American basketball team that competes in The Basketball Tournament (TBT), an annual winner-take-all competition. The team has competed in each tournament since 2015, except for 2020. As of 2021, the team's general manager is Rutgers alumnus Michael Illiano, and the head coach is Marc Hughes, who previously coached Overseas Elite. Team 23 was the tournament runner-up in 2015 and 2021.

The Basketball Tournament 2017 was the fourth edition of The Basketball Tournament, a 5-on-5, single elimination basketball tournament broadcast by the ESPN family of networks. The tournament involved 64 teams; it started on July 8 and continued through August 3, 2017. The winner of the final, Overseas Elite, received a two million dollar prize.

The Basketball Tournament 2018 was the fifth edition of The Basketball Tournament, a 5-on-5, single elimination basketball tournament broadcast by the ESPN family of networks. The tournament involved 72 teams; it started on June 29 and continued through August 3, 2018. The winner of the final, Overseas Elite, received a two million dollar prize.

The Basketball Tournament 2016 was the third edition of The Basketball Tournament, a 5-on-5, single elimination basketball tournament. The tournament involved 64 teams; it started on July 9 and continued through August 2, 2016. The winner of the final, Overseas Elite, received a two million dollar prize. The semifinals were broadcast on ESPN2, and the championship game—played at Rose Hill Gymnasium at Fordham University in The Bronx—was broadcast on ESPN.

The Basketball Tournament 2015 was the second edition of The Basketball Tournament, a 5-on-5, single elimination basketball tournament. The tournament involved 97 teams; it started on July 10 and continued through August 2, 2015. The winner of the final, Overseas Elite, received a one million dollar prize. The semifinals and championship game, played at Rose Hill Gymnasium at Fordham University in The Bronx, were broadcast on ESPN. The tournament was branded as "The Basketball Tournament Presented by Jack Link's Jerky".

The Basketball Tournament 2014 was the first edition of The Basketball Tournament, a 5-on-5, single elimination basketball tournament. The tournament involved 32 teams; it started on June 6 and continued through June 28, 2014. The winner of the final, Notre Dame Fighting Alumni, received a half-million dollar prize. The championship game was played in Boston, at Case Gym on the campus of Boston University, and was broadcast on ESPN3.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eberlein Drive</span> American basketball team

Eberlein Drive is an American basketball team that participates in The Basketball Tournament (TBT), an annual winner-take-all single-elimination tournament. The team has participated in the tournament since its 2014 inaugural playing. The roster of Eberlein Drive consists of professional basketball players who compete outside of the NBA. The team is named after the street in Fraser, Michigan, that co-general manager Jacob Hirschmann grew up on.

The Basketball Tournament 2019 was the sixth edition of The Basketball Tournament (TBT), a 5-on-5, single elimination basketball tournament broadcast by the ESPN family of networks. The tournament, involving 64 teams, started on July 19 and continued through the championship game on August 6 at Wintrust Arena in Chicago. The winner of the final, Carmen's Crew, received a $2 million prize.

The Basketball Tournament 2020 was the seventh edition of The Basketball Tournament (TBT), a 5-on-5, single elimination basketball tournament. The tournament, involving 24 teams, started on July 4 and continued through the championship game on July 14, with all games held at Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio. The winner of the final, Golden Eagles, received a $1 million prize.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Golden Eagles (TBT)</span> Professional basketball team

The Golden Eagles are an American basketball team that participates in The Basketball Tournament (TBT), an annual winner-take-all single-elimination tournament. The team first played in the tournament in 2016, was the runner-up in 2019, and won the championship in 2020. The Golden Eagles' roster consists of professional basketball players who compete outside of the NBA, most of whom played college basketball for the Marquette Golden Eagles men's basketball team. The TBT team is an independent entity that was named after the college team.

The Elam Ending, also known as final target score, is a rules format for basketball. Unlike traditional basketball rules, in which the game is played with four timed quarters, with the Elam Ending format, teams end the game by playing to a target score. A variation used by the NBA G League implements the Elam Ending in games that go into overtime.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Basketball Tournament 2021</span> Single elimination basketball tournament

The Basketball Tournament 2021 was the eighth edition of The Basketball Tournament (TBT), a 5-on-5, single elimination basketball tournament. The tournament, involving 64 teams, began on July 16 and concluded on August 3 with the championship game in Dayton, Ohio. The format of the tournament returned to that of the 2019 edition—64 teams, each playing in one of four regionals, with the top two teams from each regional progressing to the championship weekend. The tournament was won by Boeheim's Army, who captured the winner-take-all $1 million prize.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Boeheim's Army</span> Professional basketball team

Boeheim's Army are an American basketball team that participates in The Basketball Tournament (TBT), an annual winner-take-all single-elimination tournament. The team's roster consists of professional basketball players who compete outside of the NBA, most of whom played college basketball for the Syracuse Orange men's basketball team. The TBT team is an independent entity that is named after Jim Boeheim, longtime coach of the college team. Boeheim's Army first played in the tournament in 2015; in 2021, they won the championship and a $1 million prize.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Basketball Tournament 2022</span> Single elimination basketball tournament

The Basketball Tournament 2022 was the ninth edition of The Basketball Tournament (TBT), a 5-on-5, single elimination basketball tournament with a $1 million winner-take-all prize. The tournament, involving 64 teams, began on July 16 and ended on August 2 with the championship game in Dayton, Ohio. The tournament format was similar to that of the last pre-COVID-19 edition in 2019—64 teams, each playing in one of eight regionals.

Blue Collar U is an American basketball team that participates in The Basketball Tournament (TBT), an annual winner-take-all single-elimination tournament. The team consists of professional basketball players, most of whom played college basketball for the Buffalo Bulls men's basketball team. The team began participating in TBT in 2021, reaching the semi-finals. Blue Collar U won its first TBT championship in its second year of participation in 2022, winning the $1 million grand prize.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Basketball Tournament 2023</span> Single elimination basketball tournament

The Basketball Tournament 2023 was the tenth edition of The Basketball Tournament (TBT), a 5-on-5, single elimination basketball tournament with a $1 million winner-take-all prize. The tournament, involving 64 teams, began on July 19 and ended on August 3 with the championship game in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The tournament format was similar to that of the last edition in 2022—64 teams, each playing in one of eight regionals.

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