For those basketball fans who have been deprived of watching tournaments, ESPN will televise an NBA H-O-R-S-E Tournament starting Sunday, April 12, from 1 p.m. until 3 p.m. HST.

For those who do not know…what is H-O-R-S-E? H-O-R-S-E, according to Wikipedia: The order of turns is established before the game starts. The player whose turn is first is given control, which means they must attempt to make a basket in a particular way of their choosing, explaining to the other players beforehand what the requirements of the shot are. If that player is successful, every subsequent player must attempt that same shot according to its requirements. If a player fails to duplicate the shot, they acquire a letter, starting with H and moving rightward through the word “Horse”. After all players have made an attempt, control moves to the next player, and the game continues on in this fashion. If a player who has control misses their shot, there is no letter penalty and control moves to the next player. Whenever any player has all of the letters, they are eliminated from the game. The last person in the game is declared the winner.

Players will include current and past NBA players, plus WNBA players:

• Trae Young (Hawks)
• Chris Paul (Thunder)
• Zach LaVine (Bulls)
• Mike Conley (Jazz)
• Paul Pierce (former NBA)
• Chancey Billups (former NBA)
• Allie Quigley (Sky)
• Tamika Catchings (former WNBA)

The players will play on individual home courts. The NBA has been shut down since March 12 because of the coronavirus pandemic, and there’s no expectation that the league can resume play anytime soon. Because of COVID-19, players will not be in the same place.

The semifinals and championship of the NBA HORSE Challenge will air April 16, beginning at 1 p.m. HST, also on ESPN and streaming on the ESPN App.  Check local listings to confirm any showings.  On Spectrum Cable on the Big Island, ESPN is channel 222.

Photo courtesy Markus Spiske