Earlier this week, we heard rumblings that a game of HORSE featuring NBA players could be coming soon.
On Thursday morning, ESPN and the NBA officially made the announcement that the NBA HORSE Challenge will begin Sunday night and feature a cast of current and former NBA and WNBA players.
Here's the full field and first-round matchups:
Trae Young vs. Chauncey Billups
Tamika Catchings vs. Mike Conley
Paul Pierce vs. Zach LaVine
Chris Paul vs. Allie Quigley
Per the official release:
Participants 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.
So as far as nationally televised HORSE tournaments during a global pandemic go, it's pretty straightforward. Players will, of course, compete remotely from their own homes, while ESPN's Mark Jones will serve as the host/commentator.
It goes without saying that trying to pick a winner for an event like this is borderline-reckless. Nonetheless, we're here to offer some thoughts:
What are your expectations for this event overall? Are you starved enough for sports that you'll be making a point to tune in?
Alex Barutha: I think at its worst, it's a boring, normal HORSE game. At its best, it can create new NBA memes. Considering I'm a millennial without cable, I'll probably end up catching the highlights on Twitter/YouTube afterward. It's new basketball content, so I'll take it.
James Anderson: This is more than enough to whet my basketball appetite. I would watch this competition even if it were D List participants, rather than the B/C List participants they were able to wrangle together. I think it will be fairly underwhelming for the most part, but I think we're all starved for even underwhelming live sports, and it has the potential to provide some fun moments.
Nick Whalen: My expectations are extremely low. Can't emphasize enough how low they are. With that said, I'm desperate for any semblance of competitive basketball, so it will be appointment viewing. This was always how I planned to spend my Easter Sunday.
If you could pick any current or former NBA or WNBA players, who would you most want to see in a HORSE competition?
Barutha: I think it would be fun for James Harden to participate and do a quadruple step-back three. Also, I'd like a Ben Simmons vs. Markelle Fultz bracket.
Anderson: Luka Doncic, Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, Larry Bird, Kevin Durant, Karl-Anthony Towns, Eddie House, Trae Young are all guys who come to mind as potentially great HORSE performers. You want someone who can put on a show — just taking standard game shots isn't very interesting or impressive. There has to be some degree of difficulty involved.
Whalen: A one-off event like this is as much, if not significantly more, about showmanship and entertainment as it is the actual competition, so the typical rat pack of former NBA wild cards – Nick Young, Gilbert Arenas, Matt Barnes, Rasheed Wallace, etc. – would obviously be fantastic. In terms of current players, how about making it an alumni challenge with the entire field comprised of former Duke or Kentucky players?
The four active NBA players will likely be popular picks. Is there value to be found in that group?
Barutha: It depends how much athleticism is allowed. Dunking isn't, but can Zach LaVine do a 540 layup? Would that count? Because if so, he should be the favorite by a wide margin.
Anderson: Trae Young has such good touch and range that I think he should be seen as a strong favorite. We see him hit HORSE-like shots all the time in games, this should be right up his alley.
Whalen: I like both Trae Young and Chris Paul. Young has the deepest range of all the participants, while Paul can shoot from all levels and is creative with the ball in his hands as just about any point guard in the last two decades.
If you had to pick between Paul Pierce and Chauncey Billups to advance further, who are you taking?
Barutha: Chauncey Billups. His nickname is Mr. Big Shot, after all.
Anderson: I think Billups will represent himself better, but I think they'll both get smoked. Like HORSE to H level smoked.
Whalen: Billups. Believe it or not, I'm struggling to come up with a good reason for this, but of the two, Billups strikes me as the one who's spent more time playing basketball since he walked away from the game.
Which player are you picking to win it all?
Barutha: I'll go LaVine because of the athleticism point I brought up earlier.
Anderson: Trae Young. Let's not overthink this and look for a long shot.
Whalen: When you're eliminating the inherent physical advantages of the men's game, I don't see any reason why Catchings or Quigley can't win this. At the end of the day, HORSE is mostly a shooting contest, and they're both more than qualified in that regard. With that said, Chris Paul is my pick to win, but I think Allie Quigley is sneaky-good pick.
