'The Basketball Tournament' Offers $1 Million with Ex-NBA Players on 97 Teams
Nate Robinson, Royce White, Brian Scalabrine and more than 40 other former NBA players will take part in a 97-team, single-elimination basketball tournament with normal rules that rewards the winning team with a $1 million prize.
But this isn't just any tourney—it's "The Basketball Tournament."
The event will kick off July 10, with the semifinals and championship being played at Fordham University (New York) on Aug. 1-2. The semis and finals will also air on ESPN.
In just its second year, TBT has grown from 32 teams with a $500,000 prize to 97 with $1 million on the line.
As ESPN.com's Jeff Goodman reported Monday, this big-time event "started with a bunch of guys who have some money and had an idea. They felt like there was a void in this time of year—after the NCAA tournament, after the NBA Finals—for basketball. They wanted to come up with something in which anybody could really participate."
Many former college players band together and represent their alma mater. The Notre Dame Fighting Alumni took home the money last year, but Wisconsin, Ole Miss, Florida and Indiana, among others, will all be represented in 2015.
Perhaps the most interesting team features San Antonio Spurs forward Matt Bonner as general manager, filmmaker Michael Rapaport as coach and Jason Williams and Scalabrine as players.
The smart money is on that squad.
Rejoice, basketball fans! We now have some great hoops to watch in the dog days of summer.
[ESPN]
