As the bitter rivalry between the NBA and COVID-19 rages on, the league has announced its latest attempt to entertain the masses: a friendly game of H-O-R-S-E.
ESPN reports that the single-elimination tournament will include familiar faces like NBA All-Stars Trae Young and Chris Paul, two-time Slam Dunk Contest champion Zach Lavine, an assortment of recently retired NBA alumni and WNBA legend Tamika Catchings.
Players will compete separately from each other at remote locations, though instead of waiting to find out the rules, Young laid out the terms of his participation on Twitter.
“ABSOLUTELY NO DUNKING🤨😅🤣,” he joked, in a tweet directed at Lavine.
“Half Court Shots Only💯🤣,” he said in another.
When last we saw H-O-R-S-E in the NBA, it was kicked to the curb after boring us all to death during 2010’s NBA All-Star Weekend. But with the NBA starved to resume play, players starved for something to do and ESPN starved for content to broadcast, it would appear that the league wants needs that old thang back.
It also provides an excellent opportunity for the league to raise both awareness and funding for coronavirus response efforts, as $200,000 will be donated to charities committed to the cause.
Considering the circumstances and limited options available, this competition sounds like a much better idea than last week’s tedious NBA 2K tournament, which featured some of the biggest names in basketball trying their best to put us to sleep.
The NBA’s H-O-R-S-E Challenge kicks off Sunday at 7 p.m. EST.