In March 2021, Sports media company Overtime, which lists Jeff Bezos, Kevin Durant and Trae Young among its investors, announced the launch of an academy-style alternative pathway for elite 16- to 18-year-old prospects to prepare for the NBA draft.
A year later, Atlanta-based Overtime Elite just completed its first season with a three-game series to determine the inaugural champion: Team Elite defeated Team OTE as projected 2023 top-10 pick Ausar Thompson was named the finals MVP.
The venture, which offers players six-figure salaries, an educational component and top-notch facilities and coaching, was met with a lot of questions in its first year, with so many logistical hurdles to overcome.
How do you build a basketball league from scratch, without anything concrete for players, families, sponsors or fans to latch onto? Would OTE be able to sign any real prospects of note with how little was known about the level of competition, the facilities and the coaching staff? Would elite prospects and their families really be willing to give up the perceived safety of college basketball and dive headfirst into such a murky venture for a start-up with no clear plan for how to generate revenue?
ESPN Insider Jonathan Givony followed Overtime Elite's inaugural season, and he weighs in on the biggest takeaways from Year 1 as well as the biggest questions ahead of its second season.
