The PrimeTime Players are a
minor league
Minor leagues are professional sports leagues which are not regarded as the premier leagues in those sports. Minor league teams tend to play in smaller, less elaborate venues, often competing in smaller cities/markets. This term is used in Nor ...
professional
basketball team based in
Fort Mill, South Carolina
Fort Mill, also known as Fort Mill Township, is a town in York County, South Carolina, United States. It is a suburb of Charlotte, North Carolina. As of 2020 United States census, 2020 census, 24,521 people live inside the town's corporate limits. ...
. The PrimeTime Players have played independently in the
Carolinas
The Carolinas are the U.S. states of North Carolina and South Carolina, considered collectively. They are bordered by Virginia to the north, Tennessee to the west, and Georgia to the southwest. The Atlantic Ocean is to the east.
Combining Nort ...
since 1991, competing in tournaments and pro-am leagues. The team has competed in
The Basketball Tournament which is aired annually on
ESPN networks against some of the best professionals in the world.
History
PrimeTime Players are owned by Chris Thomas, who also serves as the team head coach.
After winning the first three
Tobacco Road Basketball League championships (2012–14), PrimeTime are a founding member of the
East Coast Basketball League
East Coast Basketball League (ECBL) is a men's professional basketball minor league in the United States that began play in March 2015. The league is centered in the Carolinas with teams also in Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia, Virginia, Maryland, ...
. PTP have won ECBL titles in 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2021.
The Basketball Tournament
Making their debut in
2015
File:2015 Events Collage new.png, From top left, clockwise: Civil service in remembrance of November 2015 Paris attacks; Germanwings Flight 9525 was purposely crashed into the French Alps; the rubble of residences in Kathmandu following the Apri ...
, PrimeTime traveled to Atlanta as the 19th seed. They won their debut against top-seeded Team DBD, 94–66. The next day, PrimeTime downed HBC, 66–59, to move on to the Super 17. Their run ended on July 24, losing to Dirty South, 76–75.
PrimeTime was the South Region nine seed in
2016
File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses during the 2016 Nagorno-Karabakh ...
, losing in the opening round to Trained To Go, 87–82.
For the
2017
File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a ser ...
tournament, PrimeTime were seeded tenth in the South Region. The team eliminated Blue Zoo (
Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders alumni), 79–77, before falling in the second round to Ram Nation (
VCU Rams alumni), 96–82.
In
2018
File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the United ...
, PrimeTime Players were the 12th seed in the Midwest Region. Their first round opponent, Always A Brave, were a collection of
Bradley Braves alumni. PrimeTime advanced to the second round with a 68–64 victory. They defeated the four-seed Big X, 70–67, to earn a spot in the Super 16 in Atlanta where their journey ended, falling to the top-seeded Scarlet & Grey (
Ohio State alumni), 72–60.
Seeded fourth in the
2019
File:2019 collage v1.png, From top left, clockwise: Hong Kong protests turn to widespread riots and civil disobedience; House of Representatives votes to adopt articles of impeachment against Donald Trump; CRISPR gene editing first used to experim ...
Greensboro Regional, PrimeTime Players fell short in their first-round matchup against Florida TNT, 71–68.
In
TBT 2020, PrimeTime was initially not included in the field of 24, reduced in size due to the
COVID-19 pandemic. However, the No. 20 seed, Mid-American Unity, had one of their players test positive, although he was asymptomatic. That team withdrew from the tournament and was replaced by PrimeTime. PrimeTime faced team CP3, the No. 13 seed, in the opening round. PrimeTime led for most of the game, but ultimately were defeated, 76–74.
In
TBT 2021, PrimeTime was seeded eighth in the West Virginia Regional. The team faced ninth-seeded Fort Wayne Champs and were defeated, 72–61.
Season-by-season records
References
External links
Official website@PTPlayersECBL
{{The Basketball Tournament navbox
Basketball teams in South Carolina
Rock Hill, South Carolina
Basketball teams established in 1991
1991 establishments in South Carolina
The Basketball Tournament teams