Since the NBA went into a hiatus, March 11th, 2020, the NBA has been able to return in somewhat of a playground format. The very first ever Players Only NBA 2K Tournament finished up last week with Devin Booker taking to crown. Next, the NBA introduced an old school game that many people enjoy to play: H-O-R-S-E.
For people not familiar with the game HORSE, it is a shooting game where players take turns shooting at the basket from different locations on the court. If someone makes a shot but everyone else misses, those people will receive a letter towards the word HORSE. This goes in rotation until a player has spelled out the entire word HORSE. For further explanation, click the link here to learn how to play the game HORSE. Eight basketball superstars participated in a HORSE tournament which was aired on ESPN.
The NBA and WNBA had a combination of active and retired players. They competed in pre-taped segments from the safe, social distances of their homes. A prize pool of more than $200,000 was donated to charities working with the CO-VID19 Pandemic. The quarterfinal match ups aired on Easter Sunday on ESPN.
The rules for the tournament were really simple. The more senior player in each match up called heads or tails in a coin toss to determine the shooting order. Players had to describe each shot before they attempted it, specifying a bank shot or swish. There was no dunking allowed in the tournament.
Chauncey Billups got off to a very cold start against Trae Young. Billups went down H-O-R and stormed back by hitting a bank shot from the 3-point line to grab the victory.
Allie Quigley was able to hold off Chris Paul. This match up was very interesting because it was basically a shootout. Quigley got off to an early lead and left Paul in the dust. Paul tried to comeback, but it was a little too late.
Mike Conley was able to knock off WNBA great Tamika Catchings. Conley got off to a strong start. He hit some tough shots and had better gym conditions than Catchings, who was shooting outside in her driveway. Conley’s trick shots consisted of off-hand shots and shots from over the backboard. Conley will go on to face off against Billups.
Zach LaVine made easy work of NBA Champion Paul Pierce. LaVine made a clean sweep of Pierce by a straight H-O-R-S-E to nothing. LaVine hit multiple creative shots to grab the victory. LaVine went on to face Quigley in the next round. The championship round came down to Conley Jr. and LaVine. In the end, Conley Jr. would come away with the title. Casey Collier was able to give his inputs about the tournament. Collier says, “It’s great what the NBA is doing for the fans. Keeping us engaged with the sport is the only thing they can do right now, and lately they’ve been doing a great job. I wonder will that incorporate some of these ideas into an All-Star Weekend in the future.”
Media by Brenden Rutlin.
