Plot Synopsis

THE BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT (TBT) is a single-elimination tournament featuring top professional, college alumni and international basketball players competing for a winner-take-all cash prize: $2,000,000 (2015-2019), $1,000,000 (2015 & 2020), and $500,000 (2014).

In 2020, the 24-team quarantined tournament is held at Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio. TBT 2020 features more than 35 players with NBA experience, 10 first-round draft picks, nine college alumni teams and numerous international professionals playing in top leagues around the world. Notably, seven-time NBA All-Star Joe Johnson and Pooh Jeter compete with four-time champion Overseas Elite, and Hasheem Thabeet plays for Jimmy V. ESPN tips off its coverage on the first live televised basketball to be played on U.S. soil since March 12, 2020 on Saturday, July 4 with four games beginning at 3pm ET. All 23 games of the single-elimination tournament air on either ESPN or ESPN2. ESPN televise 21 games, including the round of 16 through the championship game, while ESPN2 carries two games. In addition, TBT games are available live and on-demand to more than 197 countries throughout Latin America, Europe, Asia, Oceania and the Caribbean. Fans throughout the world can stream these games via ESPN Player. Fran Fraschilla, Seth Greenberg, Dan Dakich, Bob Rathbun, Matt Martucci, Chris Vosters, and Tim Scarborough call the action remotely. Jen Hale serves as the sideline reporter for all 23 games and will be live from Nationwide Arena.

TBT 2020 is fanless with teams and staff arriving five days prior to competition for multiple rounds of COVID-19 testing. Once underway, a single positive test by a team member results in the removal of the entire team. The day before the tournament began, the Jimmy V team withdrew on Friday after a player tested positive for COVID-19. One of the standby teams, Peoria All-Stars, took their spot in the tournament.