The Basketball Tournament
Current season, competition or edition: The Basketball Tournament 2015 | |
 | |
| Sport | Basketball |
|---|---|
| Founded | 2014 |
| Inaugural season | 2014 |
| No. of teams | 97 |
| Countries | United States |
| Continent | North America |
| Most recent champion(s) | Overseas Elite |
| TV partner(s) | ESPN |
| Official website |
www |
The Basketball Tournament (TBT) is an open-application, single-elimination tournament played each summer in the United States, currently featuring 97 teams. It was founded in 2014 by Jonathan Mugar.[1]
Format
Teams in TBT are arranged by the general managers, sometimes based on which schools the players attended and which teams they had experience competing for. The teams with the most registered fans according to the tournament's website are entered into the bracket. In 2015, this field was expanded to 97.[2] The bracket is divided into four regions and each region has 24 teams, all of which are seeded. The regionals take place in Los Angeles, Atlanta, Chicago, and Philadelphia. The winners of each region along with the 2014 champion Notre Dame Fighting Alumni advance to the Super 17 Regional in Chicago.[3] The winner of the championship game, which will be televised on ESPN on August 2, 2015, receives $1 million in prize money. 95% goes to the team's personnel or to charity and 5% goes to its fans.[2] The prize money was $500,000 in 2014.[1]
Players
TBT has previously had a number of current and former National Basketball Association (NBA) players participate, including Dahntay Jones, Mike Bibby, Royal Ivey, Matt Bonner, and Brian Scalabrine.[4][5] Several alumni of the National Basketball League of Canada (NBL) also have experience in the tournament, such as Anthony Anderson and Quinnel Brown. The league's commissioner, Dave Magley, said, "We are pleased at the representation of our league's membership in The Basketball Tournament. Several players from last year’s tournament signed with our league, including NBL Rookie of the Year Rashad Whack. The Basketball Tournament not only offers our players a chance to compete alongside and against NBA talent, D-League talent and international talent, but it also offers our scouts an opportunity to spot up-and-coming talent for our teams in the upcoming season."[6] TBT has also received support from players such as Kyle Lowry in the past.[7]
Champions
The Notre Dame Fighting Alumni won the first-ever TBT championship, defeating Team Barstool, 72–68. The team, represented by several former Notre Dame Fighting Irish players, donated $40,000 to Coaches vs. Cancer.[7] On August 2, 2015, Overseas Elite defeated Team 23 to take the 2015 TBT title.[8]
| Teams | Win | Loss | Total | Year(s) won | Year(s) lost |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Notre Dame Fighting Alumni | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2014 | — |
| Overseas Elite | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2015 | — |
| Team 23 | 0 | 1 | 1 | — | 2015 |
| Team Barstool | 0 | 1 | 1 | — | 2014 |
References
- 1 2 Lowe, Zach. "Welcome to The Basketball Tournament, a $500K Winner-Take-All Extravaganza". Grantland. Retrieved 13 July 2015.
- 1 2 "About TBT". TheTournament.com. Retrieved 13 July 2015.
- ↑ "2015 Bracket". TheTournament.com. Retrieved 13 July 2015.
- ↑ Duffy, Thomas. "The Basketball Tournament 2015: Dates, Schedule, Bracket and Players". Bleacher Report. Retrieved 13 July 2015.
- ↑ "Grantland". TheTournament.com. Retrieved 13 July 2015.
- ↑ "NBL Canada Players & Alumni Well-Represented In "The Basketball Tournament"". NBLCanada.com. Retrieved 13 July 2015.
- 1 2 "2014 Recap". TheTournament.com. Retrieved 13 July 2015.
- ↑ Ryan, Kevin. "Team wins $1 million in winner-take-all hoops tournament". 247Sports.com. Retrieved 2 August 2015.