The Basketball Tournament
Current season, competition or edition: The Basketball Tournament 2016
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| Sport | Basketball |
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| Founded | 2014 |
| Inaugural season | 2014 |
| No. of teams | 64 |
| 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 64 teams. It was founded in 2014 by Jonathan Mugar.
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.
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.
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