Due to the Coronavirus, all sports have been put on hold until further notice. This is particularly troubling when you consider just how important sports are to millions of fans throughout the world. In North America, sports fans have been going through some serious withdrawals and they are desperate for some content. To appease this demand, the NBA and ESPN teamed up for a H-O-R-S-E competition between current and former NBA and WNBA players.

The first round went down over the weekend and the production value left a lot to be desired. On Thursday night, the competition upped its game and provided fans with a semi-final and finals round. First off, Mike Conley was able to defeat Chancey Billups while Zach Lavine beat Allie Quigley. From there, Conley and Lavine faced off in the Finals, with Conley taking the game easily.

While the competition didn’t feature the biggest names, it was still a nice diversion from everything going on in the world right now. Considering the event is fairly easy to set up, perhaps we can see another competition with different names, in the not so distant future. 

Let us know in the comments below what you thought of the initiative and whether or not you enjoyed it.

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.

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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.

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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.

Chicago Bulls star Zach LaVine is one of the greatest NBA Dunk Contest performers of all-time, but it has become quite clear that he wants to be known as more than just a high-flying dunker.

LaVine really kicked off his "More Than A Dunker" tour last month when he turned down an opportunity to compete in the dunk contest on his home court and instead took part in the 3-point competition. He doubled down on his stance on Tuesday in response to ::checks notes:: a Happy Birthday tweet from ESPN? Yes, that is right.

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The official ESPN account called attention to LaVine's 25th birthday on Tuesday afternoon by tweeting out a compilation of his 2016 Dunk Contest performance along with the caption: "The high-flyer put on an absolute show at the 2016 slam dunk contest." It was a fine video. Who among us wouldn't appreciate a 90-second clip of LaVine's jaw-dropping, rim-rocking jams?

Whoever is in charge of running that account certainly did not intend to offend LaVine, not on his 25th birthday, but the Bulls guard took exception to the tweet nonetheless. Not long after the video was posted, LaVine responded, "Still just want to talk about dunking huh [face palm emoji]." 

In short, if you are going to wish the two-time dunk champ a Happy Birthday on twitter today, please refrain from referring to him as a former dunk champ. Instead, maybe consider dropping him a line about how he's averaging a career-high 1.5 steals per game.

Chicago Bulls star Zach LaVine insists that he wasn't cursing at head coach Jim Boylen during the closing seconds of the team's loss to OKC on Tuesday night. Footage of the incident in question quickly spread throughout #NBATwitter, as it appeared as though LaVine was yelling at his own bench, "I have fucking 40 points" before pulling up and hitting a clutch three from the logo.

Zach LaVine has been one of the few bright spots on the Chicago Bulls this season although it hasn't exactly resulted in wins. The Bulls are tenth in the Eastern Conference with a record of 20-39. Unless they go on a huge winning streak, they don't have much of a chance to make it to the playoffs. LaVine has been vocal about his frustrations this season and last night, they boiled over even further.

During a loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder, LaVine was being yelled at from the bench by head coach Jim Boylen. In the video below, LaVine can be seen responding to Boylen by saying "I have 40 fu-king points." LaVine's tone was pretty strong and he seemed to be exasperated by Boylen's continuous criticism.

Zach LaVine has consistently been one of the best dunkers in the entire NBA. This was discovered during the 2016 NBA All-Star Dunk Contest when LaVine went toe-to-toe with Aaron Gordon of the Orlando Magic. Many felt as though Gordon was robbed of a win although LaVine was simply magical as he came through with some incredibly heroic moves. While he isn't participating in the competition this year, it hasn't stopped him from trying out some incredible dunks in practice.

In the clip below, LaVine attempts to pull off a 360 dunk all while jumping from the free-throw line. Of course, Michael Jordan infamously dunked from the free-throw line except the major difference is that Jordan went straight to the hoop as opposed to LaVine who tried to spin all the way around.

This weekend, some of the NBA's best players will be in Chicago for NBA All-Star weekend. The actual game is taking place on Sunday but the skills competition will go down on Saturday. Perhaps the best part of the skills competition is the dunk contest which typically provides some of the best highlights of the entire weekend. First Take's Stephen A. Smith is a huge fan of the dunk contest and today on the show, he counted down the five best dunk content champions of all-time.

Smith started the list with Spud Webb at number 5, Zach LaVine at 4, Dominique Wilkins at 3, Michael Jordan at 2, and finally, Vince Carter at number one. All five of these men had iconic dunk contest performances, especially Webb who was able to pull off some incredible moves despite only being 5'8."

The 2020 NBA Dunk Contest field started to take shape on Monday morning, as The Athletic's Shams Charania reported that Los Angeles Lakers center Dwight Howard has agreed to participate in the competition for the fourth time in his career. Shortly thereafter, it was revealed that the three other Dunk Contest invitees are Miami Heat forward Derrick Jones Jr., Memphis Grizzlies rookie sensation Ja Morant, and two-time Dunk Champ Zach LaVine.

Jones Jr., who competed in the 2017 contest, will participate this year in Chicago but it remains to be seen if LaVine and/or Morant will follow suit.