NBA HORSE Challenge: The Rundown

So, as of yesterday, it’s officially been one month since the NBA – and more formally, the sporting world – was halted due to concerns surrounding the global COVID-19 crisis that has affected millions of humans in more ways than one. It’s been a rough, worrisome, and pretty boring void that sports and competition usually fill at a surplus this time of the year and while we’ve been without hardwood hoops in the last month of the regular season, NBA Commissioner Adam Silver has been proactive in giving basketball fans something to cheer on during this uncertain time.

The NBA 2k20 Players Tournament came to an end Saturday night, as All-Star Suns guard Devin Booker took home the virtual gold in a sweep over teammate DeAndre Ayton in the tournament final, broadcasted live to the masses on ESPN as if it were a primetime matchup.

But now that the charitable 2K tournament is over, just what, you ask, succeeds it while captivating NBA fans for the next couple of weeks? Look no further than the inaugural NBA HORSE Challenge brought to you by State Farm, officially beginning tonight at 7 p.m. ET on ESPN.

Headlined by both NBA/WNBA superstars and National Basketball Hall of Fame enshrinees, eight participants will duke it out in an old fashioned game of H.O.R.S.E – AKA that game that you and your friends probably in the played on the driveway in which one player calls a shot, makes it and leaves it up to his or her opponent to copy the shot, or risk going up a letter.

This classic game will have pairs of current All-Stars like Oklahoma City Thunder guard Chris Paul, Atlanta Hawks guard Trae Young, Chicago Bulls guard Zach Lavine and Utah Jazz Guard Mike Conley go up with, or pair against, legends such as “The Truth” Paul Pierce, “Big Shot” Chauncey Billups, and WNBA current players and greats in Tamika Catchings, and Allie Quigley of the Chicago Sky. ESPN Commentator Mark Jones will serve as the official host and lead commentator for the games, as all competitors will attempt their shots within the safety and comfort of their isolated humble abodes.

State Farm will officially donate $200,000 on behalf of the participants to charities focused on Coronavirus relief and response efforts as this donation adds on to the already gratuitous $74 Million raised by the NBA and Nationa Basketball Players Association to support the many people, communities, and countries affected by this disease through its NBA Together campaign.

Here’s how the tournament works, per NBA.com’s official press release:

“Participants of the NBA HORSE Challenge presented by State Farm will be divided into two groups of four, with the winners of the first two games in each group meeting in the semifinals.  The winner from each group will move on to the championship round.  ESPN will present the four quarterfinal games on Sunday. The semifinals and the championship game will air on Thursday, April 16, beginning at 9 p.m. ET.

A coin toss at the start of each game will determine who shoots first, with the more senior player calling heads or tails.  Players must describe each shot attempt, specifying the type of score they intend to make before taking a shot, such as a bank shot or swish. Dunking is prohibited. The first player in each game to accumulate the letters “H-O-R-S-E” after failing to match five shots is eliminated.”

As there are two groups of competitors in this challenge, Group one features battles between Chauncey Billups, Tamika Catchings, Mike Conley Jr., and Trae Young, and Group two will have games consisting of Zach LaVine, Chris Paul, Paul Pierce, and Allie Quigley going at it.

Here are the matchups:

This is an elaborate effort by the NBA family to keep the sporting world unified during a tough time, so be sure not to miss out on the games of HORSE starting tonight on ESPN.