Overtime Elite has unveiled how it will split its inaugural 24-man roster for its upcoming season.
For Filipino stalwart Lebron Lopez, he will be under the team of Tim Fanning.
Prior to joining OTE, Fanning was an assistant coach for Maccabi Tel-Aviv from November 2016 to July of this year. He was also the head coach of the Nelson Giants from September 2014 to October 2016.
Lopez’s teammates are some of the brightest prospects in the game as well.
Six-foot-nine power forward Izan Almansa will be the other international player on the squad.
Also in are 6-foot-8 power forward Matt Bewley, 6-foot-4 shooting guard TJ Clark, 6-foot-3 shooting guard De’Vontes Cobbs, 6-foot-10 power forward Tyler Smith, 6-foot-6 point guard Amen Thompson, 5-foot-10 point guard Johned Walker, and 6-foot-8 power forward Kok Yat.
According to OTE head of basketball operations Brandon Williams, OTE will hold its season from October 29-March 25. A total of 37 competitive events made up of Prep Challenges, OTE League Series, Pro Sim Games, Takeovers, and OTE Playoffs will take place.
“For these simulated professional-style games, (Pro Sim) OTE players will be divided into 2 rosters with the format and structure modeled after the NBA. These games won’t count towards league standings, but will be a key part of player development as we prepare them for the next level,” explained Williams.
“The OTE League Series amongst our three teams will be executed at a much faster pace. Each team will play a 20 minute game against each of the others, so every team plays two 20-minute games, 40 minutes of basketball per game night,” he continued. “Prep Challenges will be played as 40-minute games where three external teams will compete against our three OTE teams over two days.
“The main goal was to create a schedule that allowed our players to compete at a high level, inside and outside of OTE. The best players want to play against the best players, and we sought them out. We wanted the best opportunities for our athletes to showcase their abilities with and against each other showing the growth and maturity that will be happening every day in practice, skill development, and performance training. We wanted to give them a robust schedule, inclusive of travel, back-to-backs, late nights, afternoons, all factors to professional play. We wanted to do this, while also being mindful and cautious as to rest and recovery. Creating a schedule where they are not underexposed, but also not overused, so finding the appropriate middle ground was our intent.”
The other teams are composed of Dominick Barlow, Malik Bowman, Lewis Duarte, Jazian Gartman, Nathan Missia-Dio, Alexandre Sarr, Jai Smith, and Tudor Somocescu (Team Ryan Gomes); and Ryan Bewley, Bryce Griggs, Jazhare Jackson, Jalen Lewis, Davion Mace, Emmanuel Maldonado, Jaylen Martin, Ausar Thompson, and Bryson Warren (Team Dave Leitao).
Team composition can still change within the season.
“What makes Overtime and Overtime Elite so special are the fans we’ve cultivated – a new generation of sports fans who have unprecedented access to their favorite athletes on social media,” said league commissioner Aaron Ryan. “We’ve seen amazing growth on our OTE channels since we launched on Twitter, Instagram, and TikTok, passing some of the biggest names in college basketball in Week 1.
“We’re excited to continue to bring fans access to our athletes and games in unexpected ways across all our platforms.”
