Overtime Elite is a professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

league for 16–20-year-olds, based in

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

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. The league is owned and operated by

Overtime Overtime is the amount of time someone works beyond normal working hours. The term is also used for the pay received for this time. Normal hours may be determined in several ways: *by custom (what is considered healthy or reasonable by society), ...

and was founded by Dan Porter and Zack Weiner.

History

Overtime launched the Overtime Elite professional basketball league in 2021 for American and international basketball players between the ages of 16–20. Players receive a minimum salary of $100,000 annually, a signing bonus, and shares in Overtime's larger business. Players can also choose a scholarship option and maintain college eligibility. According to the ''New York Times'', Overtime "provides health and disability insurance and sets aside $100,000 in college scholarship money for each player if they decide not to pursue professional basketball afterwards". Athletes participate in an academic program featuring a 4:1 student-teacher ratio and a curriculum offering traditional high school subjects alongside life skill-related subjects in financial literacy, social media and other media training, and mental health and wellness. In April 2021, Overtime Elite hired former NBA player and

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head coach

Kevin Ollie Kevin Jermaine Ollie (born December 27, 1972) is an American basketball coach and former player. Kevin is the head coach for Overtime Elite, a professional basketball league co-founded by Dan Porter and Zack Weiner for top players between 16 and ...

as its first head coach and head of player development. In May that year, the company announced the signings of Matt and Ryan Bewley, the first prep underclassmen to sign contracts with an American professional basketball league. The league also signed Dominican guard

Jean Montero Jean Claudio Montero Berroa (born 3 July 2003) is a Dominican professional basketball player for Real Betis of the Liga ACB. He has previously played for CB Gran Canaria. Early life and youth career Born in Santo Domingo, Montero grew up playing ...

in June as its first international player and 16-year-old Jalen Lewis, the youngest American professional basketball player in history, in July. In September, Overtime Elite announced an exclusive partnership with

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to create basketball trading cards on Overtime Elite athletes. In October, the company announced

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and

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as brand partners. In January 2022, Overtime Elite announced a partnership with

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to develop virtual reality content for the league. In April 2022, they announced the signing of Naasir Cunningham, the number one basketball prospect in ESPN's Class of 2024. Cunningham became the first Overtime Elite player to forgo being paid a salary, preserving college basketball eligibility after graduating from high school. In July that year,

Pau Gasol Pau Gasol Sáez (, ; born July 6, 1980) is a Spanish former professional basketball player. He was a six-time NBA All-Star and a four-time All-NBA team selection, twice on the second team and twice on the third team. Gasol won two NBA champion ...

joined

Carmelo Anthony Carmelo Kyam Anthony (born May 29, 1984) is an American professional basketball player who last played for the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He has been named an NBA All-Star ten times and an All-NBA Team me ...

and Jay Williams on the Overtime Elite board of directors. In September,

Damien Wilkins Damien Lamont Wilkins (born January 11, 1980) is an American former professional basketball player and basketball executive who played in the National Basketball Association for ten seasons. He is the General Manager and Head of Basketball at Ov ...

was named general manager and Head of Basketball. In October, Overtime Elite announced a partnership with GMC. In November, Overtime Elite and

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agreed to a multi-year global distribution partnership to stream 20 live Overtime Elite games per season for the league's next three seasons alongside the launch of a series on Overtime Elite in 2023.

Overtime Elite Arena

Overtime Elite built a 103,000 square-foot facility in the Atlantic Station section of Atlanta where players train, study, and compete. The building has three NBA regulation-sized courts that can seat up to 1,300 spectators. The building also has a 7,000-square-foot fitness center, a hydrotherapy room, classroom spaces, a dining hall, and locker rooms. In June and July 2022, the

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held three regular season events at Overtime Elite Arena. Overtime Elite Arena Exterior

Seasons

Season 1 (2021–2022)

Overtime Elite's inaugural season consisted of three teams – Team Elite, Team OTE, and Team Overtime – playing against each other and against prep schools and high schools. In May 2021, Overtime Elite announced the signing of

Amen Amen ( he, אָמֵן, ; grc, ἀμήν, ; syc, ܐܡܝܢ, ; ar, آمين, ) is an Abrahamic declaration of affirmation which is first found in the Hebrew Bible, and subsequently found in the New Testament. It is used in Jews, Jewish, Christia ...

and

Ausar Thompson Ausar XLNC Thompson ( ; born January 30, 2003) is an American professional basketball player for the Detroit Pistons of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played basketball for Pine Crest School in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, where he wa ...

, top-ranked guards in the 2022 class, and Matt and Ryan Bewley, top-ranked power forward prospects in the 2023 class. In the league's first season, Team Elite defeated Team OTE 52–45 in Game 3 of the Overtime Elite Finals to become the first league champion. Ausar Thompson was named MVP of the Finals. After the season, Overtime Elite's Dominick Barlow signed a two-way contract with the

San Antonio Spurs The San Antonio Spurs are an American professional basketball team based in San Antonio. The Spurs compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference (NBA), Western Conference Southwest Division ( ...

, later becoming the first Overtime Elite prospect to play in the

NBA The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United St ...

on November 2, 2022.

also signed an Exhibit 10 contract with the

New York Knicks The New York Knickerbockers, shortened and more commonly referred to as the New York Knicks, are an American professional basketball team based in the New York City borough of Manhattan. The Knicks compete in the National Basketball Associat ...

. Emmanuel Maldonado was also drafted by Mets de Guaynabo in the Baloncesto Superior Nacional League in Puerto Rico. In the summer of 2022, a group of Overtime Elite players competed in

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and traveled to Europe to compete against professional clubs Basquet Girona,

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t, and KK Studentski centar.

Season 2 (2022–2023)

In April 2022, Overtime Elite announced the signing of top-ranked 2024 recruit Naasir Cunningham, the first Overtime Elite player to accept a scholarship instead of a salary. In July, Overtime Elite announced the signing of 8 new players for the 2022 season. Overtime Elite announced their expansion to 6 teams for that season. Team Elite, Team OTE, and Team Overtime were rebranded as the City Reapers, YNG Dreamerz, and Cold Hearts, respectively. High school teams Hillcrest Prep Bruins, Our Saviour Lutheran Falcons, and the Word of God Holy Rams joined Overtime Elite for the second season. In the same month, Overtime Elite announced a 90-game schedule with non-league games against Bryce and

Bronny James LeBron Raymone "Bronny" James Jr. (born October 6, 2004) is an American basketball player. He was named a McDonald's All-American as a senior in 2023. He is the eldest child of professional basketball player LeBron James. Early life Bronny Jam ...

, Cameron Boozer, and Jared McCain. In November 2022, Overtime Elite announced the signing of top-ranked 2023 recruit

Robert Dillingham Robert Deon Potasi Dillingham (born January 4, 2005) is an American college basketball player for the Kentucky Wildcats of the Southeastern Conference (SEC). He is a five-star recruit that previously played professionally for the Cold Hearts in O ...

after he announced his departure from

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's school, due to the many controversies surrounding its founder during that time.

was named regular season MVP. The City Reapers swept the YNG Dreamerz 3-0 in the Overtime Elite Finals. Ausar Thompson was also named MVP of the Finals. After the end of the season, Amen and Ausar Thompson from the City Reapers went on to become top-5 picks in the 2023 NBA draft, with Amen drafted 4th overall by the

Houston Rockets The Houston Rockets are an American professional basketball team based in Houston. The Rockets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member team of the league's Western Conference Southwest Division. The team plays its ho ...

and Ausar drafted 5th overall by the

Detroit Pistons The Detroit Pistons are an American professional basketball team based in Detroit. The Pistons compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Central Division and play their home games at Li ...

. In addition to them, YNG Dreamerz players Jaylen Martin and Jazian Gortman signed deals to join NBA teams after the draft, with Martin getting a

two-way contract A two-way contract is a professional sports contract that stipulates that an athlete's salary is dependent upon the league in which the athlete is assigned to play. This is opposed to a one-way contract that would pay the same salary regardless of ...

with the

and Gortman signing a deal with the

Milwaukee Bucks The Milwaukee Bucks are an American professional basketball team based in Milwaukee. The Bucks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Central Division. The team was founded in 1968 ...

. Not only that, but YNG Dreamerz power forward Izan Almansa signed a deal to be promoted up into the

NBA G League Ignite The NBA G League Ignite is a developmental basketball team in the NBA G League. Based in Henderson, Nevada, the team was designed to play exhibition games outside the G League's traditional scheduling as part of a one-year development program for e ...

in the

NBA G League The NBA G League, or simply the G League, is the National Basketball Association's (NBA) official List of developmental and minor sports leagues, minor league basketball organization. The league was known as the National Basketball Development ...

, while Cold Hearts point guard

made sure to play collegiately for the

University of Kentucky The University of Kentucky (UK, UKY, or U of K) is a Public University, public Land-grant University, land-grant research university in Lexington, Kentucky. Founded in 1865 by John Bryan Bowman as the Agricultural and Mechanical College of Kentu ...

after the season concluded.

Current roster

Notable alumni

* Izan Almansa – Signed with the

of the

in 2023 * Dominick Barlow – Signed as an

undrafted free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...

through a

with the

in 2022 *

– Playing collegiately for the

2023 Events Predicted and scheduled events * January 1 ** In the United States, books, films, and other works published in 1927 will enter the public domain, assuming there are no changes made to copyright law. ** Croatia will adopt the eu ...

* Jazian Gortman – Signed as an undrafted free agent with the

in 2023 * Emmanuel Maldonado – Plays professionally for the Mets de Guaynabo in Puerto Rico * Jaylen Martin – Signed a two-way contract as an undrafted free agent with the

in 2023 *

– Plays professionally for the

Real Betis Baloncesto Real Betis Baloncesto S.A.D., simply known as Real Betis, is a professional basketball team based in Seville, Spain. The team plays in the Liga ACB. It plays its home games at San Pablo. History Club Deportivo de Baloncesto Sevilla was fou ...

in Spain * Alexandre Sarr – Signed with the

Perth Wildcats The Perth Wildcats are an Australian professional basketball team based in Perth, Western Australia. The Wildcats compete in the National Basketball League (NBL) and play their home games at RAC Arena, known colloquially as "The Jungle". Afte ...

in Australia in 2023 * Amen Thompson – Drafted 4th overall by the

in the 2023 NBA draft *

– Drafted 5th overall by the

in the 2023 NBA draft

References

External links

*{{Official website, http://overtimeelite.com/ Basketball leagues in the United States Men's basketball Professional sports leagues in the United States