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The Basketball Tournament: Amateurs, College and NBA Players Vie for $500k

By Michael Dunlap

Oct 17, 2012; Houston, TX, USA; Memphis Grizzlies guard Josh Selby (2) shoots a free throw against the Houston Rockets during the first quarter at the Toyota Center. Mandatory Credit: Thomas Campbell-USA TODAY Sports
Oct 17, 2012; Houston, TX, USA; Memphis Grizzlies guard Josh Selby (2) shoots a free throw against the Houston Rockets during the first quarter at the Toyota Center. Mandatory Credit: Thomas Campbell-USA TODAY Sports /
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Have you ever wanted to see the 2009 Villanova Final Four team reunite to square off against the guys from the gym who claim they could beat the Milwaukee Bucks? How about those former professionals who still have plenty to prove against the guys from the blacktops of New York City? That’s what The Basketball Tournament (TBT) is all about. It’s a combination of amateurs, former collegiate and professional basketball players squaring off for the lucrative prize of $500,000.

TBT Founder Jonathan Mugar had this to say about the inaugural event:

"This is the only place in the world you’ll get to see Princeton versus the reigning Rucker Park champions or a group of kids who grew up together on a cul-de-sac in the middle of Michigan against recent NBA players."

The first four rounds of the tournament will be held at Philadelphia University and is comprised of the 32 teams playing a single-elimination tournament from June 6-8 to determine the two challengers for the $500,000 winner-take-all prize. The championship game will then be hosted by whichever team the fans choose and will be played on June 28.

The first 24 teams earned automatic entry to the tournament based on garnering the most “fans” from March 1 through May 1. From there, eight teams were awarded entry to complete the field. Check out the entire list of teams here.

The team rated with the best talent is Team Barstool, who boasts a lineup with former NBA players like Dahntay Jones, Quincy Douby, Dante Cunningham, Josh Boone and Shavlik Randolph. On the other side of things, we have Team Pup N’ Suds, who brand themselves as “a group of Division I, III and none athletes of various sports.”

Check out some highlights of Josh Selby here:

Here are some of the notables playing in the tournament:

Here, you can watch the top-4 teams pick their opponents.

Tickets go on sale Thursday, May 22 at thetournament.com. Check out the official blog for more information about each of the teams, the selection process and talent score explained.