I Almost Won the First $500k Winner-Takes-All Open Basketball Tournament

What's This?

Former NBA player Smush Parker (left) and former NBA D-League player and article author Luke Bonner (right) strategize on court at Philadelphia's The Basketball Tournament in June 2014.

By Luke Bonner2014-06-27 13:50:49 UTC

I felt like I had been hit by a truck. My left calf twitched, an unrelenting ache lived somewhere within my right ankle, and the thought of stairs made me quiver. I fidgeted on my barstool unable to escape the discomfort.

We were driving back to New Hampshire following an overtime loss in the semi-finals of The Basketball Tournament (TBT), a startup 32-team, single-elimination, $500,000 winner-takes-all tournament in Philadelphia. The first of its kind. And the finals are Saturday.

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We exited 95 in New Haven, Connecticut and stopped at the first sports bar we could find. Game Two of the Spurs vs. Heat series was on — my brother (Matt Bonner) was playing on the biggest stage basketball has to offer, the NBA Finals. Meanwhile, I tried to make sense of the past month: temporarily escaping my sedentary office lifestyle to play in one of the most unique, bizarre and mind-boggling basketball tournaments few but hardcore basketball fans even knew about.

But I'm getting ahead of myself — the story of how I got there is a trip itself.

The call to ball

This January a former student manager from my college team sent me a Facebook message. He said he was working for a new 32-team basketball tournament: “free to play, win five games to win $500k. Do you and your brother want to put a team in?”

$500k? Get the hell out of here.

“The teams with the largest social media following will make the cut. The goal is to prove fans can support teams via social media.”

This can’t be real.

I dismissed the messages as spam and didn’t reply. Turns out, this was my first introduction to TBT.

Anyone could enter a team into the tournament, regardless of talent. Hypothetically, teams with NBA players could match up against weekend warriors. If you recruited enough people to become “fans” of your team on the TBT website, you would qualify for the tournament. The 24 teams with the most fans would receive automatic bids. A TBT committee would select the final eight teams based on PR and buzz potential.

I was still reluctant. In my mind, there had to be a catch.

In it to win it

Spring marked my two-year anniversary in the marketing business. I’d become fully entrenched in the agency world at GYK Antler. So you can imagine my surprise when Jason Curry of Big Apple Basketball (BAB) called me in April to join his New York City squad, which was trying to qualify for the tournament.

The team’s roster consisted of relatively big-name players. I decided I couldn’t pass up this unique opportunity — and a legitimate shot at a $25,000 personal payout.

Big Apple Basketball roster for The Basketball Tournament, minus the author. Clockwise from top-left: Smush Parker (Fordham University, 7 NBA seasons, Current: Venezuela); Russell Robinson (Kansas, 2008 NCAA Champion, Current: Lebanon); Corsley Edwards (Central Connecticut State, NBA Experience, Current: Turkey); Lance Goulbourne (Vanderbilt, Current: NBA D-League).

At the time, BAB was on the cusp of the top 24 team, and less than 48 hours remained until the tournament field would be locked in. Our roster was stacked, but we needed supporters. I accepted a roster spot and went to work recruiting fans. By deadline, our fan-base had grown and we were in the top four.

So, I had a month to get in game shape, while working a full-time job, running a nonprofit and planning my wedding.

I ran suicides, lifted weights, and shot around with my 5’6” fiancée, who did her best to contest my shots. I had to be able to hedge ball screens, rebound and run the court for 10-15 hard minutes per game. The tournament rules called for a 45-second shot clock, so I set up chairs on opposite sidelines of a local basketball court. Starting under the basket, I sprinted to one chair, simulated a hard hedge and sprinted back under the hoop. Same on the other side, back and forth. It looked ridiculous, but was necessary evil for a 7-foot-tall role player.

Locker room nerves

TBT-branded basketballs.

A month later, I carpooled to Philadelphia with a friend. I arrived a day early to register and scope out the scene. I had no idea what to expect.

I ducked under the doorway to enter the gym. There were two courts and TBT signage everywhere. There was even a media room for post-game press conferences. The setup was legit.

I could feel other participants staring at me. Oh shit, their eyes said. I felt like a prospect again.

The Big Apple Basketball jerseys in the TBT locker room.

The next morning, I arrived an hour before my first game. Each team had received unique micro-branding and uniform design. I was excited to see my name on the back of a jersey again.

But I was anxious about meeting my new teammates. I obsessed about the possibility of botching a late game situation and costing these guys half a million dollars. I was concerned I might be the weakest link. Then the locker room door swung open.

Kobe Bryant’s former L.A. Lakers running mate Smush Parker entered with long dreadlocks and sunglasses. Russell Robinson was behind him with headphones on. Smush gave me a big handshake, and Russell nodded slightly. Corsley Edwards followed with a huge smile. He remembered me from my NBA D-League days and gave me a warm reception. Lance Goulbourne and Jason Curry entered last. We spent a few minutes recapping and bonding over foreign hoops horror stories — crazy food, insane training methods, months without pay.

Team Big Apple Basketball, from left: Russell Robinson, Luke Bonner, Corsley Edwards, Jason Curry, Lance Goulbourne, Smush Parker.

I put on my uniform while Jason, our GM/coach, addressed the team. He informed us we’d only have five players for the weekend, and that he’d wear a uniform just in case.

Oh, shit.

I tried to hide my panic. No substitutions meant I’d be playing every minute of the tournament. Four games in three days, 18-minute halves, no running time. So much for my 10-15 hard minutes per game. But there was an upside: The money would be split five ways, not 10, so my salary might double to $50,000.

Jason reviewed each player’s strengths. He told the team about the last time I played with BAB: It was at Nike Pro-City in Manhattan during the 2011 NBA Lockout. I played one of the best games of my life. According to Jason, I had “dominated” Indiana Pacers star Roy Hibbert and played well against Kevin Durant.

This only made me more anxious; Jason wasn’t exactly managing expectations.

Game time

Fortunately, our first game we faced Eberlein Drive, a team of high school friends and a couple former college players from Philly. Their tallest player was 6’1”. We walked away with a 42-point victory. More importantly, my 26 points and 17 rebounds gave my confidence a much needed boost.

It was the second day that proved physically devastating. Our first game was 9:30 a.m. We played Hittas (below), a team comprised of several guys with active basketball careers overseas.

We were up by one, but Hittas had the final possession. I prayed the player I was guarding wouldn’t get the final shot (he had just knocked down back-to-back contested threes). Thankfully, he didn’t. The point guard missed a floater and I cleared the final rebound to advance. Overall, another solid showing: 18 points, six rebounds, and I was hot from the three-point line through the first two games, shooting a combined 8-11 from downtown.

Our game against Hoopville would be a battle. They were a seasoned Chicago-based team captained by Rico Hill (my brother’s former teammate from his rookie season in Messina, Italy).

I was approaching a point of total exhaustion, damn near delirious by the end of the game. Hoopville poured their heart and soul into the game, and it took Russell Robinson’s buzzer-beating three-pointer to beat them.

The Hoopville players were distraught in their tear-filled post-game press conference.

But we were still alive and one game closer to that $500,000 prize.

The final four

Our Final Four matchup against Team Barstool was the game I had anticipated all weekend. Barstool was tough. They had shooters, athletic bigs and NBA experience. I was excited about the possibility of knocking off media mogul David Portnoy and his sidekick Big Cat.

Author Luke Bonner shoots a game-tying free throw against Team Barstool in the Final Four matchup of TBT.

Barstool controlled most of the game, but we scrapped to come back late, cutting Barstool’s lead to four with 1:22 left. During a timeout, Smush Parker pounded my chest insisting I would hit a three in the next possession. He was so confident in me. Lo and behold, the next possession, Corsley Edwards kicked the ball out, and I knocked down a three to cut the lead to one.

Barstool then hit two free throws to push the lead back to three with 30 seconds left.

Smush brought the ball up and tried to run a two-man action. He hit me on the wing and cut for a hand-off. It wasn’t there, but both defenders chased him. Surprised, I turned around for an open three-point attempt. The crowd let out a gasp, but Matt Walsh reappeared and slapped my forearm hard on the release. The whistle blew. My shot caught the front iron. Miss.

With that, I headed to the line for three free throws, down three, with 13 seconds left. The outcome of the game was on my shoulders. Going into the tournament, this was my nightmare, coming up short in a situation like this.

All eyes were on me. The gym grumbled. I couldn’t allow myself to think about the magnitude of these free throws, so I didn’t waste any time with the shots. The ref tossed me the ball; I took one quick dribble, and shot. $500,000 on the line.

First one. Good.

Another dribble, shot. Good.

Another dribble, shot. Good.

The crowd erupted. Like that, we headed into overtime.

(I relished the opportunity to do the ole “big balls” dance to the Prez and Big Cat.)

It was our fourth game in three days, and we had four final minutes to fight through in OT. If we could escape, we’d have three weeks to rest before the championship game; I questioned whether three weeks would be enough recovery.

Sadly, everything went bad in overtime. We were out of gas. A couple missed free throws, a horseshit call on a big rebound, an impossible Matt Walsh three-pointer and we were buried. The dream was over.

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Back to reality

Back at the bar, I cringed as a group of meatheads high-fived a Lebron James three-pointer.

The next time down the court, my brother was caught switching onto Lebron. I held my breath fearing for my brother’s life. Matt stayed solid, chesting up Lebron as he crossed over and elevated for a difficult running floater — off the glass and in.

A close-up revealed the fire in Lebron’s eyes.

Seemingly unfazed, my brother inbounded the ball and continued with his job. And the Spurs went on to eventually dominate the series, winning in five games and giving my brother his second championship ring.

Years from now, youngsters will be awestruck with my brother’s tales of his NBA championships. But with TBT’s aspirations to increase their prize money into the millions, who knows? Maybe someday folks will be impressed by my Final Four run in the first ever TBT.

The tournament was the most fun I've had playing basketball since before college. Sure, we didn’t win the championship, but I played a significant role in my team’s success, averaging 15.2 points nine rebounds per game, shooting 60% from three-point range and 90% on free throws. And as all sports fans know, there’s always next year.

The TBT championship game between Team Barstool and The Fighting Alumni tips off on Saturday, June 28 at 7 p.m. EDT from Boston University. You can stream the game live on ESPN3.com.

Luke Bonner

Luke Bonner played “professional” basketball in Lithuania, Hungary and the NBA Developmental league. He’s currently pretending to be a real-life adult at GYK Antler, a leading marketing innovation company. He’s the...More

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