BOYS GymRat CHALLENGE (Albany, NY)
GymRat LIVE is the GREATEST SHOW IN GRASSROOTS BASKETBALL! By INVITATION-ONLY, the GymRat LIVE field includes representatives of NIKE’s EYBL, the Under Armour Association and Adidas’ 3 Stripe Select Basketball Circuit competing head to head in exclusive cross-sneaker brand CHAMPIONSHIP event that’s displayed across the country and around the world in a full broadcast production that provides the brightest spotlights ever to shine on the grassroots basketball landscape. Created as a complimentary addition to the legendary GymRat CHALLENGE events that have been the proving ground for today and tomorrow’s NCAA and NBA stars since 1998, GymRat LIVE IS LIKE NOTHING ELSE THAT HAS EVER TAKEN PLACE IN THE HISTORY OF GRASSROOTS BASKETBALL.
After receiving approval from the Governor’s Office and the Department of Health, GymRat LIVE was the first large-scale sporting event to operate in New York State coming out of the pandemic in 2021….and it created a new paradigm in the elite grassroots basketball space. For the first time since national player rankings had been published dating back to the late 1980s, GymRat LIVE featured the top three players in the nation competing on the same team with Emoni Bates, Jalen Duren, and Dereck Lively all suiting up for the #1 ranked grassroots team in the nation, Team Final out of Philadelphia. The event grabbed immediate national attention and was dubbed “The Show” by those who participated. Rob Brown, Director of Team Final, the 2021 GymRat LIVE & NIKE National Champions, and the program that has sent more players onto NBA careers than any other over the past decade, was clear in his assessment, “If you want to play against the best in a one of a kind setting, GymRat LIVE is must see TV” said Brown. “GymRat LIVE ‘WOWed’ us on every level. We can’t say enough about this event. From the facility to the national media coverage to the social media content to the overall hospitality….We were completely impressed. GymRat LIVE is ‘THE SHOW’ and the gold standard in grassroots basketball.”
The GymRat talent parade is marching stronger than ever with nine more former ALL-GymRat performers hearing their names called during the last three NBA Draft cycles led by former GymRat MVP, Jalen Duren (Team Final/Memphis) who was a Lottery Pick in 2022 as the #13 overall pick to the Detroit Pistons. In the 2023 NBA Draft, a record four former ALL-GymRat selections were chosen among the top 60 players in the world with Dereck Lively II (Team Final/Duke) chosen #12 overall by the Dallas Mavericks, then Jalen Pickett (City Rocks/Siena/Penn State) selected #32 overall by the Denver Nuggets, followed closely by Andre Jackson, Jr. (City Rocks/U. CONN) picked #36 overall by the Milwaukee Bucks, and Emoni Bates (Bates Fundamental/Team Final/Memphis/Eastern Michigan) going at #49 to the Cleveland Cavaliers. The 2024 GymRat NBA Draft class included four more event alums with Donovan Clingan (Boston Spartans/U CONN) leading three NBA Lottery picks at #7 overall to the Portland Trailblazers followed by Matas Buzelis (Expressions Elite/G League Ignite) at #11 to the Chicago Bulls, and Bub Carrington (Team Melo/Pittsburgh) at #14 to the Washington Wizards, while Kyle Filipowski (NY RENS/Duke) was selected #32 overall by the Utah Jazz.
Additionally, the #1 ranked high school player on the PLANET in the class of 2024 and GymRat CHALLENGE MVP, Cooper Flagg, was selected as the Naismith National High School Player of the Year at Florida’s Montverde Academy, is bound for Duke, and is the presumptive #1 overall pick in the 2025 NBA Draft. Both Flagg and Filipowski started their GymRat appearances in the 7th Grade and returned annually to showcase their development through the end of their high school eligibility.
In each of the past four years, GymRat LIVE has featured AT LEAST 18 of the top 100 prospects in the national classes competing including the #1 AND/OR #2 ranked players in the nation in the classes of 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024, and 2025. Among the nationally ranked GymRat alums in that talent parade that are now marching to the next level are Justin Edwards (Team Final/Kentucky/Philadeplpha76ers), Kwame Evans, Jr. (Team Durant/Oregon), Matas Buzelis (Expressions Elite/G’League Ignite/Chicago Bulls) who committed to begin playing professionally in for G-League Ignite, Simeon Wilcher (NY RENS/North Carolina), Taylor Bol Bowen (Expressions Elite/Florida State), TJ Power (BABC/Duke), Gavin Griffiths (Expressions Elite/Rutgers), Solomon Ball (Team Melo/U. CONN), Elijah Gertrude (City Rocks/Virginia), Amani Hansberry (Team Durant/West Virginia), Ty-Laur Johnson (NY RENS/Memphis), Tre Norman (BABC/Marquette), Brandon Williams (PSA Cardinals/UCLA), Papa Kante (NY RENS/Michigan), Reid Ducharme (BABC/Xavier), Carlton Carrington (Team Melo/Pittsburgh/Washington Wizards), Mouhamed Dioubate (PSA Cardinals/Alabama), Gus Yalden (City Rocks/Seton Hall), Cooper Flagg (Maine United/ Duke), Dylan Harper (NY RENS/Rutgers), Jalil Bethea (Team Final/Miami), Deriq Queen (Team Thrill/Maryland), Tahad Pettiford (NY Lightning/Auburn), Rob Wright (Team Final/Baylor), Boogie Fland (PSA Cardinals/Kentucky), Ahmad Nowell (Team Final/ U.CONN), Tyler Betsey (NY RENS/Cincinnati), Nass Cunningham (NY RENS/Alabama), Thomas Sorber (Team Final/Georgetown), Kur Teng (RIVALS/Michigan State), Kayvaun Mulready (City Rocks/Georgetown), Jayden Glover (Jersey Celtics/St. John’s), Damarius Owens (City Rocks/Marquette), Matthew Hodge (PSA Cardinals/Villanova), Andre Mills (RIVALS/Texas A&M), Joson Sanon (BABC/Arizona State), and Oswin Erhunmwunse (BABC/Providence).
GymRat LIVE shines the greatest spotlight in all of grassroots basketball. As a true invitational event, there is no charge for teams to compete at GymRat LIVE. Teams are selected to compete at GymRat LIVE based on input from national and regional media members, sneaker company executives, basketball coaches, experts, and evaluators.
If you believe that your team or program deserves consideration to be invited to compete in GymRat LIVE, contact GymRat LIVE Executive Director, John Kmack, at 1-888-7-GYMRAT (1-888-749-6728) or email us at COMPETE@GymRatCHALLENGE.com.
Each year, players from throughout the United States & Canada gain national and regional notoriety and enhance their recruiting process based on their GymRat performances. The list of GymRat alums who have gone on to NCAA and NBA stardom is long, distinguished, and growing each year. The top of that list includes NBA MVPs, World Champions, All-Stars, and Lottery Picks, NCAA Players of the Year, National Champions and All-Americans, Olympic Gold Medalists, McDonald’s All-American’s, and Naismith National High School Players of the Year.
In addition to national media members, scouting services, hundreds of college coaches in attendance and tuning into the broadcast, the GymRat Evaluation Team is on site throughout the event weekend compiling notes. The legendary GymRat Evaluation Staff is comprised of expert current and former professional, college, and high school coaches, professional players, and media members. The unique GymRat experience provides PROVEN services and benefits that go well beyond the dates of the competition. To properly evaluate during the event, the GymRat Evaluation Staff is assigned in a matrix. ALL teams at ALL Age Divisions of the GymRat CHALLENGE are viewed at least twice by at least two different GymRat evaluators in order to ensure that no player is judged on a single performance or on the opinion of a single GymRat evaluator. At the conclusion of the event, all evaluator notes are compiled into the GymRat REPORT….the most extensive report provided by any basketball event in the nation. This comprehensive 60+ page report highlights ALL-GymRat performers and provides detailed written evaluations for HUNDREDS of players that are directly available to every college coach throughout the nation, as well as all GymRat participants through their GymRat RECRUITING Index accounts.