Overtime Elite or OTE as it is often called, is a basketball league in Atlanta created by popular brand Overtime with the goal to help promote and develop high school basketball players. According to the OTE website it found 3 flaws in high school basketball that it wanted to improve,” player development: Lack of access to the best training, coaching and facilities. Education: Academics are not prioritized and applicable professional skills training is ignored. Economic Empowerment: Players are restricted from realizing their market value.” Over 3 seasons later much has changed about the league, so let’s take a look over the league and see how it has improved.

The league’s first format started off with 3 teams, team Overtime, team OTE, and team Elite. They played out a championship and playoff format with the winner being team Elite. With this some stars started to immerge lie Bryce Griggs, Dominic Barlow, and many more. However, two really set themselves apart; two twins named Ausar and Amen Thompson.

The Thompson twins were the real deal at OTE, two 6’7 players, despite looking similar, had very different games. Ausar was more of a wing, someone and played mainly off the ball while Amen was a 6’7 point guard with elite play making abilities. In season 1 these two were on different teams which met in the championship, where Ausar and team Elite would defeat Amen and team OTE (Ausar would take home finals MVP).

Season 2 saw a major change, Overtime would still control 3 teams, however they rebranded to become the City Reapers, Cold Hearts, and The YNG Dreamerz. The rebrand wasn’t even the biggest change as they would also add 3 high schools from out of state. These schools were separate schools from the actual Overtime brand, but played in the OTE league. The 3 schools were Word of God, Hillcrest Prep, and Our Savior Lutheran. The league played out its season and this time the Thompson twins paired up on the City Reapers and made it all the way and took home the Championship over the Dreamerz with Ausar winning MVP of the league and hit a game winner to win game 3 of the finals. The league also had some new stars, the likes of Alex Sarr and Rob Dillingham among them (we will get back to them later).

The offseason was big for the Thompson twins as they became the first pair of brothers drafted in the top 5 of the NBA draft, Amen went 4th to the Rockets due to his upside as a elite playmaker. His brother Ausar went one pick later to the Pistons at 5. However, this is when the questions came along. One of the biggest concerns with drafting the twins was the debate in the competitiveness of OTE. OTE is comprised of mostly high schoolers with a few 19 and 20 years olds. So the debate was sure the twins dominated high schoolers, but how would they do vs NBA competition. Many predicted the twins were could not handle the pressure of playing pros vs 14-18 year olds. This left all eyes on this season surrounding 2 things, how would the Thompson twins and others perform outside of OTE and how was OTE going to do without its 2 superstars.

Lets start off by looking at ex OTE players now. Ausar was the 5th overall pick in the draft and so far in his NBA career he has averaged 8.8 points 6.4 rebounds and 2 assists per game. On paper these aren’t the best numbers in the world, however, Ausar’s defense is what has really shined where has put on great displays vs some of the leagues best talent. Amen has had a bit more trouble, mostly due to some injuries at the beginning of the season and has had some good performances recently so the verdict is still out on him. However, two names (without the last name Thompson) have been raising the OTE name in their respective leagues. Rob Dillingham is a shifty guard that was on the Cold Hearts for season two. Dillingham ened up being a 4 star recruit, 21# in the nation(according to 247 sports), who commited to Kentucky. Rob himself was under a microscope himself as despite being the 21st best player in the 2023 class, he was Kentucky’s 4th highest commit. Rob fought his way up making earning all SEC honors in the form of 2nd team all SEC and making the SEC All Freshman team. His biggest honor was being named the SEC’s 6th man of the year. Dillingham brough his stock up from a late 1st rounder to a projected top 5 picks in most NBA mock drafts. Alex Sarr is a 7 footer from France, he played for the Dreamerz in season 2. He decided to go pro and went to the NBL in Australia where he has shown off his talents on both sides of the court and is now, according to many mock drafts, the likely number 1 overall pick in the upcoming NBA draft.

The second question was how would the OTE do in its first season without the twins. The league started by adding a new team: Rod Wave Elite (RWE). It also changed the schools it was with to 4: the Blue Checks, Jelly Fam, Rolling Loud, and the Diamond Doves. They signed new stars like Karter Knox, John Bol, and Daquan Davis. Behind them and returning stars like Jakhi Howard, Trey Parker, and most notably Eli Ellis, the league had arguably its most successful season with Eli Ellis winning the MVP award and the City Reapers defending their crown as champions.

The OTE just wrapped up its 3rd season and does not seem to be going anywhere soon so it brings us back to the two big questions from before. To say that the twins and company have not exceeded most expectations is an understatement. Even a former OTE coach Kevin Ollie was named Nets interim head coach this season. Question two was if the league could sustain its level of talent. This was also a big success, with most of their stars either going off to major power 5 programs or are going pro.

The OTE has turned heads this season silencing the critics and proving that it is better then ever and I’m sure they have a lot more to come.