Ones Basketball Association. What does that make you think about? If you guessed one-on-one, elite hoops competition with one ruler of the court, you got it right. Seven-time NBA All-Star, Basketball Hall-of-Famer Tracy McGrady, is all in with this novel sport business concept. The Sports Techie community blog is notifying potential participants and fans about this new endeavor, the regional schedule and host venues for the first-ever season of 1v1 basketball in the United States. The series starts in Houston on April 30 as part of seven cities across America as they play host to a two-day, regional involving 32-players engaged in a round-robin, knockout tournament. Entrants must be age 18+ and cannot be under an NBA contract, nor have been on an active NBA roster for 165 games total. Selected athletes will be evaluated using a combo of open-sourced video submissions mixed with insight provided by basketball insiders. McGrady added industry leader, Jeffrey Pollack, and the founder’s personal business manager, Elissa Grabow, to the leadership team. I live the next city over from Chamblee, GA where CORE4 hosts week 2, on May 7-8, it is a nice and quaint-sized gym so I get it. Time is of the essence, sign up now.
Tourney Format and Winnings
Each regional tournament winner earns the $10,000 cash prize together with an invitation to the Finals. Look for 21 players consisting of the top three per region to compete for the ultimate chance to win the grand prize of $250,000.
The pandemic is still here so the decision was made to use venues the first year with very limited public seating, in order to keep the current focus on the athletes, their stories, and the competitive format.
The regional tournament schedule for the first season of the Ones Basketball Association season is:
Houston, April 30-May 1 (The Dub Sports Zone, Richmond, TX)
Atlanta, May 7-8 (CORE4 Atlanta, Chamblee, GA)
Chicago, May 21-22 (Chicago Hope Academy Athletic Center, Chicago, IL)
New York City, May 28-29 (Major R. Owens Community Center hosted by New Heights, Brooklyn, NY)
The DMV, June 4-5 (The St. James, Springfield, VA)
The Bay Area, June 11-12 (The Ultimate Fieldhouse, Walnut Creek, CA)
Los Angeles, TBD (TBD)
OBA Hoops Vision
Think of this entertainment as best-in-class talent together with players flying under the radar of most basketball fans. These inaugural events feature men only. Women will be welcomed as equal participants as soon as 2023.
The first year of regional competition will take place in seven cities across the U.S. beginning the weekend of April 30th in Houston then concluding in June in an announced L.A. venue. The sizzling 2022 Finals for OBA Hoops are schedule for July.
Key Leadership Additions
McGrady signed Pollack as a media and sports influencer, and strategic advisor to assist leading business planning and operations, as well as create best-in-class events and experiences.
“Our goal this year is to test and preview how we should best spotlight and celebrate the competition, raw athletic talent, and extraordinary skills of these young rising stars,” McGrady said. “We are proud to partner with Jeffrey Pollack, who will help us develop our game plan on and off the court. His input is already invaluable to me, as we take our first steps as a startup league and set the foundation for a global basketball property that will create more opportunities for athletes and fans and tell new basketball stories.”
Pollack has played a major role when driving businesses and brands to rethink, recalibrate, and evolve. Previously, he’s had executive and advisory roles with the NBA, NASCAR, World Series of Poker, Professional Bull Riders, and Los Angeles Chargers. Pollack is original founder of The Sports Business Daily, the original daily trade publication for the sports industry.
Elissa joined the leadership team to help turn McGrady’s vision into reality.
“Working for Tracy McGrady for the past 25 years has been the ride of a lifetime and this journey is a true labor of love,” said Grabow. “Tracy is inspired and focused and it all comes from the purest place: his heart. It is an honor to be on this team and help develop the Ones Basketball Association into something special that we believe will build community, provide hope and opportunity, and create a new way to fall in love with the game of basketball.”
Follow – Ones Basketball Association: https://www.obahoops.com/.
Sports Techie, each regional tournament field, content and media partners, elite player ambassadors, and further details about the 2022 Finals, are to be announced in the next weeks.
No word on whether the series will be televised or streamed.
For fans of OBA Hoops around the nation and globe, let’s hope so!
Tracy is an entrepreneur, he can make it so like he did with the OBA.
Just do it.
See you later sportstechie in Seattle, Atlanta and around the world!
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