SALT LAKE CITY — Utah Jazz guard Donovan Mitchell may have been eliminated from ESPN’s NBA 2K tournament, but he’s got a teammate who will be filling the void in the TV network’s next event as it tries to find programming during the coronavirus pandemic.
On Thursday, it was announced that Mike Conley will be one of eight players to participate in the HORSE Challenge, which will begin April 12 at 5 p.m. MT. The event will be a single-elimination tournament style format, with the four first-round games April 12 and the semifinals and finals April 16, beginning at 7 p.m. MT.
Players will be competing on self-isolated courts at their homes, whether they be inside or outside (Conley is in Ohio with his wife Mary and their two young boys). 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.
Conley’s first-round matchup will be against retired WNBA star Tamika Catchings, who last weekend was announced as part of the loaded 2020 Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame class alongside Kobe Bryant, Tim Duncan and Kevin Garnett, among others.
State Farm will donate more than $200,000 on behalf of the HORSE Challenge participants to charities focused on coronavirus response efforts.
The other six participants in the challenge are Chauncey Billups (retired former NBA All-Star), Trae Young (Atlanta Hawks), Zach LaVine (Chicago Bulls), Chris Paul (Oklahoma City Thunder), Allie Quigley (WNBA’s Chicago Sky) and Paul Pierce (retired former NBA All-Star).