Eric Bledsoe headlines new Kentucky alumni TBT team; Lexington to host Regional

LEXINGTON, February 14, 2024 – The Basketball Tournament (TBT), the 64-team, $1 million winner-take-all event, announced today that the city of Lexington and Rupp Arena will host a TBT regional in 2024. The regional will be headlined by Kentucky alumni team La Familia, whose roster will feature former Wildcats guard and 11-year NBA veteran Eric Bledsoe.

Lexington Regional games will be played at Rupp Arena from July 19-24.

“I’m very excited to be returning to Lexington this summer, and to have the opportunity to represent the University of Kentucky again while playing for La Familia,” said Eric Bledsoe. “My time at the University of Kentucky was incredibly special, and I can’t wait to see the support from Wildcats nation this summer.”

“Kentucky fans are some of the best in the country and their potential alumni team is electrifying,” said TBT founder and CEO Jon Mugar. “Eric’s commitment is sure to draw out the best of the best. We can’t wait to see this team at Rupp Arena this summer!”

“We are very excited for Lexington to be named as a host site for this summer’s tournament and welcome back our UK Men’s Basketball alumni to play at home again in Rupp Arena,” said Rupp Arena director of booking Trevor Chesler.

🔵BACK IN BIG BLUE🔵

A @KentuckyMBB alumni team (@LaFamiliaTBT) led by Eric Bledsoe, will not only play in TBT this summer but WE ARE BRINGING TBT TO RUPP ARENA‼️

We’ll see how crazy BBN truly is, July 19-24 in Lexington!

🎟️Waitlist for La Familia – https://t.co/bddggDbxtL pic.twitter.com/94wwDU622I

— TBT (@thetournament) February 14, 2024

La Familia is organized by general manager Twany Beckham, who played at Kentucky from 2011-13. The Kentucky alumni team will be joined in the regional by seven other teams hoping to emerge one step closer to TBT’s $1M grand prize.

Bledsoe, La Familia’s first player commitment, starred at Kentucky during the 2009-10 season, helping the Wildcats win an SEC regular season and tournament championship, as well as an Elite Eight appearance in the NCAA Tournament. Bledsoe was selected 18th overall in the 2010 NBA Draft, and spent 12 seasons in the NBA with the Los Angeles Clippers, Phoenix Suns, Milwaukee Bucks, and New Orleans Pelicans. The 34-year-old is currently in his second season with the Shanghai Sharks of the Chinese Basketball Association.

Additional roster and coaching announcements will be made over the coming months via La Familia’s social media pages, @LaFamiliaTBT.

Since TBT began in 2014, it has awarded more than $13M in prize money, and has been viewed in more than 180 countries around the world. Alumni teams have won TBT’s championship in four of the past five summers, with teams representing Ohio State, Marquette, Syracuse, and the University of Buffalo taking home the $1M prize between 2019-2022. TBT is also the home of the Elam Ending, the alternate ending to games where teams play to a target score. The Elam Ending was adopted and featured by the NBA for its All-Star Games from 2020-23, and is now being used in G League games as part of their overtime format.

Tickets for the 2024 Lexington Regional will go on sale at a later date. To be the first to secure tickets for the event, fans can sign up for TBT’s waitlist at thetournament.com/tbt/tickets/.

For more information on this year’s TBT or La Familia, visit TheTournament.com.