Mike Bibby talks about the Kings with owner Vivek Randadive.
Mike Bibby talks about the Kings with owner Vivek Randadive. (USATSI)

While the Las Vegas Summer League tips off on July 10, there is yet another outlet for summer basketball that will get started on the same day - The Basketball Tournament. The first round of TBT, a 97-team single-elimination tournament with a million dollar prize, will tip off in Los Angeles and Atlanta around the same time Summer League in Vegas starts. The million dollar cash prize makes TBT quite unique and has drawn the interest of  “no fewer than 125 players who have played in either the NBA or the NBA D-League,” to compete in the tournament.

Familiar names like Nate Robinson, Michael Sweetney, Smush Parker and Hakim Warrick are on the rosters for their respective teams but the seemingly favorite to win is Team Grantland. Put together by free agent Matt Bonner (with the help of his younger brother Luke), Team Grantland is stacked with former NBA players like Brian Scalabrine, Jason Williams, Royal Ivey and Mike Bibby. The team even brought in 2010 NBA Celebrity Game MVP Michael Rapport to coach the team, a job he has embraced and will be taking quite seriously.

Despite the talent on his team, in a text message with CBSSports.com, Luke Bonner admitted he was concerned about the first round of games but that the rest of his teammates are locked in and ready. “Our group has never played together before, but we definitely have the talent,” Bonner said. “I’m just a little tense hoping that it all clicks, understanding that anything can happen in a single-elimination tournament.”

Bonner’s pre-tournament jitters is one of the many reasons why TBT was created. Not only would TBT give fans a chance to watch quality basketball in the summer, it would also allow former college and NBA players a chance to get their competitive juices flowing again. And as Bonner points out, anything can happen in a single-elimination tournament. Last year at TBT’s inaugural tournament, a team of Notre Dame alumni defeated a team which featured Los Angeles Clippers reserve Dahntay Jones and former NBA center Josh Boone.

Bibby is ready for this challenge as as he told CBSSports.com over the phone. While he has been out of the league since 2012, Bibby has stayed connected to the game by coaching his son Mike Bibby Jr., at his former high school in Phoenix. Bibby is considered to be one of the better point guards in the franchise history of the Sacramento Kings and his son seems to be taking after his father. Leading Shadow Mountain High School to a state title in 2014, Bibby Jr. is looking to become an elite college recruit after missing all of last year with a knee injury.

Speaking with CBSSports.com, Bibby touched on his son’s potential, his excitement for TBT and how important it is to have fun while playing basketball.

The following Q&A is lightly edited for clarity and flow.

CBSSports.com: I’ve heard you’ve been coaching your son and that he’s becoming one of the better high school players, how’s he coming along?

Mike Bibby: I’ve been coaching my son since he was nine years old. We are trying to get him there. He missed last season with an injury, he will be fine though. He just has to get back to where coaches can see him. We are going to get him into a school that is best for him. Georgetown, Memphis, Oregon and Gonzaga have expressed interest but we will see how it goes next year when more people see him play.

CBSSports.com: What’s the experience been like being on the coaching side of things?

Bibby: It is different being the coach, especially now that the whole process with college recruitment has started. It is different than what I’m used to but my main goal right now is trying to get him and the rest of my kids off to college.

CBSSports.com: Switching gears, how did you get involved with Team Grantland?

Bibby: I was trying to put a team together myself but it was too late time wise. They kind of recruited me so I joined up.

I’m going to play but it is going to be a little hard for me schedule wise. I will be able to play opening weekend up in Los Angeles, however in the next round we got an AAU tournament so I will have to miss those games. Hopefully, we make it to New York so I can play in the championship.

CBSSports.com: Hopefully? You guys have a pretty stacked team with Jason Williams and Brian Scalabrine, you don’t like your team’s chances?

Bibby: I love the chances. The type of players we have on our team is really going to benefit us. We have guys who are great offensive players and then we also have guys who are great defensive players. I think we have a balanced team and things will work in our favor. It may be tough but a lot of the guys have played professionally.

We just got to play basketball, not try and do too much. If you just play basketball, things will turn out good.  Getting a little money for something that you love to do is always good too. 

CBSSports.com: Your former teammate Vlade Divac has become the head guy over in Sacramento, have you been paying attention to everything that has been happening with the Kings as of late?

Bibby: Man, I’m trying to go back to the Kings, I can probably still help. I don’t need to come in there and play 40 minutes a game but I can give you five or six points and a couple of assists in limited minutes. Maybe, I will talk to Vlade and see what he can do.

(Bibby was joking)

CBSSports.com: (Laughs) What about coming back as a coach? Would you like to coach in the NBA?

Bibby: I have my son and my three girls, as soon I help get them to college I may explore it. I’ve just been gone so long, the last five or six years my kids haven’t really seen me. Right now, I’m focused on being with my kids and being their father.

CBSSports.com: What was up with those dances you used to do in the tunnel when you played for the Knicks?

Bibby: I was just trying to get the team ready and excited for the game. I learned from Vlade, Webb (Chris Webber) and Doug Christie, that you got to have fun while playing. You are with each other everyday, so try and make it fun and as easygoing as possible. After I was traded from Sacramento to the Hawks, I brought that mentality to Atlanta and that was something I tried to do everywhere else for the rest of my career. I would always try and make an imprint on my teammates. Basketball is a livelihood but just have fun with it.

For the full schedule of TBT games visit their website.