ESPN had the bright idea just a couple of weeks ago to host a H-O-R-S-E tournament featuring former NBA players, current NBA players, and even some WNBA stars. The first matchups were last night and let's just say, it didn't go as well as people were hoping. For starters, let's go with the results. Chauncey Billups beat Trae Young, Mike Conley defeated Tamika Catchings, Allie Quigley upset Chris Paul, and finally, Zach Lavine knocked off Paul Pierce.

While these results are fine, there is no denying just how bad the quality of the broadcast was. Now listen, ESPN can't send camera crews outside because we are in the midst of a pandemic. However, grainy Nokia phone footage isn't exactly the best alternative either and that's exactly what we got. Just look at the clip of Trae Young below, for an example.

Sports fans have been deprived of content throughout this quarantine period and sports leagues around the world are well-aware of that. The NBA is taking matters into their own hands and are coming through with a competition that will certainly get fans excited. We reported over the weekend that the NBA would have a H-O-R-S-E competition with some of the NBA’s best players. This is a classic game amongst basketball players and now, the NBA will be turning it into a primetime event.

The eight participants have been revealed and it is surely going to be a lot of fun. The players are split into two groups, with the winner of each group advancing to the finals. In group 1, we have Chauncey Billups, Tamika Catchings, Mike Conley Jr, and Trae Young. Meanwhile, group 2 features the likes of Allie Quigley, Paul Pierce, Chris Paul, and Zach Lavine.

Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images

On Sunday, April 12th at 7PM EST, the quarterfinal matchups will take place. The players will be in their respective homes where they all have nets set up. The four semi-finalists will play on Thursday, April 16th at 9 PM EST. That same night, the winner of the entire tournament will be crowned.

Let us know in the comments below who you think is going to come away with the win.

[Via]

Trae Young is just like every other NBA player right now as he is confined to his home where he is trying to get through the quarantine. It hasn’t been easy for Young as he has been looking for new ways to occupy himself until the NBA gets started back up again. Young has been practicing his basketball skills as he is lucky enough to have a hoop at his home. Not every player is so lucky although, for Young, he will at least be warmed up by the time he gets back to practice.

Yesterday, Young gave fans some insight into his latest workout routine, which involves his dog. As you can see in the video below, Young is going up against his own dog who put on some pretty tight defense. However, Young’s handles were just too much as he crossed up his dog on numerous occasions, before putting away the basket.

Young’s creative use of time will certainly serve him well over the next few months. Boredom can be hard to overcome but when you have some willing participants, it’s easy to find time to get some training in.

Perhaps dribbling against one’s dog will become a trend as the quarantine progresses.

NBA players have nothing else to do right now so as a way to supplement their inability to play basketball, the good people at Take-Two Interactive put on a tournament in collaboration with ESPN and the NBA. Sixteen NBA players were selected to be a part of an NBA 2K20 tournament that will be broadcast on National Television. In fact, the first four matchups were on TV last night and the entire event lasted just over three hours.

The four matchups included Kevin Durant vs. Derrick Jones Jr, Tray Young vs. Harrison Barnes, Zach Lavine vs Deandre Ayton, and Hassan Whiteside vs Patrick Beverley. Thanks to his overall rating, Durant was the number one seed but he ended up being upset by Jones, who beat him 78-62.

NBA fans have been looking for any kind of sports content they can get their hands on and now, the league is set to deliver with a brand new NBA 2K tournament that will air on Friday on ESPN. This tournament will reportedly go on for ten days and is being called "Players-Only" due to the fact that only NBA talent can participate. In fact, some of the league's biggest names will be in the tourney.

The bracket has already been made and has been split up according to who has the highest ranking in NBA 2K. For instance, Kevin Durant has an overall of 96 which means he is the first seed. He will go up against the 16th seeded Derrick Jones Jr. Some of the other big names in the tournament are Trae Young, DeMarcus Cousins, Donovan Mitchell, and Devin Booker. You can see the entire bracket, below.

Sports debates are always riddled with discussions over who is the greatest of all time in a given sport. In basketball, we love to talk about who the five greatest players of all time are. Depending on when you were born, this list is always going to change. If you were born in the 50s and 60s, Bill Russell, Oscar Robertson, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, and Wilt Chamberlain are probably high on your list. Meanwhile, those born in the 80s and 90s will most likely talk about players like LeBron James, Michael Jordan, Shaq, and Kobe Bryant.

Trae Young is one of the younger players in the NBA, no pun intended. Having said that, you would think he has a top 5 list that reflects his age. This assumption would be correct as he recently took to Twitter and gave his personal five best. At the top, he has LeBron James, followed by Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant, Kevin Durant, and Steve Nash.

Trae Young has been one of the most exciting young stars in the NBA over the past little while although, over the past week and a half, we haven't been able to see him out on the court. There is a very good reason for this. The NBA has been shut down due to the Coronavirus. Every single player has been quarantined at home and is trying to make good use of the time. For many players, the days are pretty boring and the self-isolation is starting to create a craving for some basketball. 

When your job has been taken away from you through no fault of your own, it can be very maddening. For Young, he knows this feeling all too well. Yesterday, Young took to Twitter where he stated that "Each day starts to get longer & longer..." and no, he's not talking about the Summer Solstice.

With the NBA on an indefinite hiatus, it's safe to say that the vast majority of NBA stars have no idea what to do with themselves. In a way, it's actually quite sad as they wither away on their couches, trying to figure out how to play the guitar and in some cases, even chess. While this may be true, some players have gone a different route with their boredom. Some are trying to recreate basketball scenarios but with their everyday items.

One of the players doing this is Trae Young who took to Twitter last night with a genius re-creation of the NBA 3-Point contest. In the clip below, Young can be seen lining up balls of socks from different ranges. He then quickly throws them all into his laundry hamper as if he were at the All-Star Game. What's truly impressive is that he only missed one shot.

A fateful draft-night trade will forever link these two stellar sophomores, but we’re still no closer to seeing who won in that exchange. Luka Doncic and Trae Young have set a new bar for NBA newcomers as they walked through the bowels of the arena and secured their seat at the proverbial table amongst the league’s elite - all while not even being able to gain access into the most popular night club in the same cities they watch on billboards, building wraps and banners. Even the Hawks General Manager Travis Schlenk admitted that his group was torn between the two players in scouting. It seems like every other night Young or Doncic deliver a virtuoso performance swinging the narrative in their favor. Since day one they have traded monster performances like boxers standing toe-to-toe and exchanging blow for blow.

The 2018 draft-night transaction sent the Atlanta Hawks’ first-round pick, Doncic, to the Dallas Mavericks in exchange for their first-round pick, Young, and an additional first-round selection the following year. Since that moment the debate for Trae over Luka or Luka over Trae has raged on. Even the most passive sports fans have heard dissertations for one of the other. During the first half of the 2018 season, if you asked many basketball fans, the rookie of the year debate seemed an obvious choice. Luka Doncic raced out to a sizable lead over Trae Young, gobbling up all the headlines and fanfare. Yet in the season’s latter half, Young stepped up and surpassed Doncic in the eyes of many spectators and analysts. This tug-of-war for control will likely define their careers. 

Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images

The two have already amassed a litany of milestones between them. In the 76 year history of the NBA, only 16 players who began their rookie season under the age of 20 have managed to average more than 10 points in a season. Luka Doncic mangled that mark by posting a ridiculous 21 points per game his first year. The Dallas Maverick star became the youngest player to start an All-Star game in 15 years. He was the 9th youngest to ever play in the game and the 6th youngest to start. Young recently became the second player in NBA history with 10 or more 40 point games in one season at 21 years old or younger, joining LeBron James in a class of two. In only his second-year, Young is averaging 30 points and 9 assists per game. He now joins all-time great Oscar Robertson as the only players to average those marks in their second season.  

The situations couldn’t be more different for the pair. Luka was drafted by one of the most well-run and well-coached organizations in the league. Since his first season, that organization has surrounded him with other all-star caliber players in Harrison Barnes, DeAndre Jordan and Kristaps Porzingis and owner Mark Cuban has worked tirelessly to field a competitive team as he always does. The Mavericks have seldom missed the postseason in the last 12 years. Meanwhile, Young was taken by the Hawks - a franchise wading in mediocrity for years with a string of nonsensical trades and head-scratching draft picks in recent memory. The two franchises are light-years apart. 

Ronald Martinez/Getty Images

Aside from being in two dissimilar situations, they are two totally different players with styles of their own. Young is 6-foot-1 at 180lbs and relies on his long-range shooting to space the floor. Once the defense is pulled farther away from the basket to contest his long jumpers, Young can then dash by defenders with a lightning-quick first step. With the defense compromised, Young can then use his incredible court vision and passing ability to find teammates. If there is a path, Young isn’t afraid to venture into the paint and finish among the trees. Luka Doncic stands 6-foot-7 at 230lbs - a slightly more physical player-- and he is able to more considerably impact the game on the glass. The Slovenian totals 9.3 rebounds per game. Like Young, he’s a master at the pick-and-roll and has equally dazzling court vision. Neither are particularly great defenders but give effort on that end.

Most would point to wins and losses as the biggest difference between the two. Yet, that picture is still blurring due to Young’s lack of help (although the Hawks seem to be mounting a stand with the acquisition of Clint Capela). Prior to the Coronavirus-related postponement, Dallas was currently sitting at the 7 seed in the West, good enough for a playoff slot - while Atlanta is near the bottom and looks to be en route to another lottery pick. But the Mavericks have been in win-now mode since Cuban took over a majority stake in 2000. Since that year, the Hawks have only won six playoff series while the Mavericks have reached multiple NBA finals and even captured a title back in 2011, led by future Hall of Famer Dirk Nowitzki.

 Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images

Overall there looks to be a shift in the league with more and more young players getting an opportunity to compete early in their career. Three teams have a combined 13 rookies on their roster in Miami, Charlotte, and New York. Compare this to 2000-01 when all three clubs had a combined 5 rookies. The Hawks alone have played their rookies over 7,000 minutes this season. Additionally, for the first season in NBA history, four 21-year-olds (or younger) are on pace to average 21+ points per game: Trae Young, Luka Doncic, Zion Williamson, and Jayson Tatum. 

As we begin to see the twilight of his career inch closer - arguably the game’s best player, LeBron James, told ESPN the league was in good hands moving forward. The 3-time NBA champion cited players like Luka Doncic, Trae Young, Jason Tatum, and others. Few can understand the pressure and gravity of success as a youngster like James. He graced the cover of Sports Illustrated as a senior in high school and scored his first career points at the age of 18 against the Sacramento Kings in one of the most highly anticipated debuts in all of sports.  

Young believes time will yield him as the better of the two players a decade down the line, telling Bleacher Report"In my eyes, it's not a question—it's going to be me. But that's just the competitive nature in my blood, and I think that's the no-brainer with me."  

Trae Young has been one of the most popular players in the NBA as of late and it's easy to see why. In just his sophomore season, Young has put up some impressive numbers and continues to be one of the best young guns in the league. Not to mention, he plays in Atlanta which has become a huge hub of culture over the past decade. With this in mind, it's clear as day as to why Young has been getting so much attention. Unfortunately for him, players have become aware of his moves and are doing anything to stop them.

A great example of this was the other night when Trevor Ariza bodychecked Young. Young was attempting his signature nutmeg move and as Young put the ball through Ariza's legs, the latter performed a huge hit. Since then, Young has been asked if he will stop nutmegging and to no one's surprise, he's going to keep pushing forward. On Twitter, Young sent a message to the haters who want to see him stop.