Sport Basketball Inaugural season 2014 Countries United States | Founded 2014 No. of teams 64 Continent North America | |
The Basketball Tournament (TBT) is an open-application, single-elimination tournament played each summer in the United States, currently featuring 64 teams. It was founded in 2014 by Jonathan Mugar.
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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 11 teams in each region with the most registered fans according to the tournament's website are entered into the bracket. Three teams in each region are then selected for at-large bids, one team in each region gains entry through a charity component, and the returning semifinalist from each region in 2015 gains automatic entry into the field. In 2016, this field included 64 teams. The bracket is divided into four regions and each region has 16 teams, all of which are seeded. The regionals take place in Los Angeles, Charlotte, Chicago, and Philadelphia. The four semifinalists from 2015 receive automatic entry into the 2016 field. The winner of the championship game, which will be televised on ESPN on August 2, 2016, receives $2 million in prize money. 95% goes to the team's personnel or to charity and 5% goes to its fans. The prize money was $1,000,000 in 2015 and $500,000 in 2014.
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. 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." TBT has also received support from players such as Kyle Lowry in the past.
In 2016, NBA players John Wall, Kristaps Porzingis, Rudy Gay, Shaun Livingston, Chandler Parsons and Austin Rivers are just some of the players to serve as a booster for different teams.
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. On August 2, 2015, Overseas Elite defeated Team 23 to take the 2015 TBT title. Overseas Elite was able to repeat as 2016 TBT champions one year later by defeating Team Colorado to claim the $2 million prize.