Slamball is back, and the highlight-driven sport promises to be bigger than ever

More than 20 years ago, Mason Gordon had a thought: What if there was some way to combine the fast pace of basketball and the physicality of football?

Drawing inspiration from “NBA Jam” and “NFL Blitz” — over-the-top video games with physics-defying moves — Gordon created Slamball, and it wasn’t long before it became viral way before Tik Tok was a thing.

Athletes jumping from trampolines nearly 20 feet in the air for a slam dunk. Players meeting each other at the rim for must-see blocks or posters. Highlight after highlight, Gordon said the sport “managed to push a button in the hearts and minds of millions and millions of people.”

But after a strong 2000s, the sport and league left the U.S. in 2008 and had a few international seasons before it went dark following 2016. Despite no league, highlights would go viral every so often, leaving people to wonder if Slamball would ever return.

That all changed in March, when Gordon announced Slamball would return with a season in Las Vegas. After securing a broadcast deal with ESPN, the season begins this weekend with games Friday through Saturday. Eight teams will compete with what Gordon says are the best athletes the sport has ever seen.

“Slamball is the most entertaining sport on the planet,” Gordon told USA TODAY Sports. “People are going to find a really, really compelling sports product.”

What is Slamball? What to know about rules, teams and more ahead of sport's revival

Bringing the slam back

Despite the viral success of Slamball, Gordon and co-founder Mike Tollin were hesitant to bring it back until they felt the timing was right and it could be structured how they wanted it, especially since its early years ended quickly because of disagreements on its structure.

After several years away, the two Slamball founders took their league to possible investors to gauge interest, only to see there was huge intrigue in bringing it back. Gordon and Tollin then took the league to broadcasters, and were met with the same enthusiasm.

In June, Slamball and ESPN announced a partnership to air all Slamball games this year and next, promising a future for the sport.

“We have a multiyear run with ESPN to really prove the sport has legs to be on the sports landscape long-term,” Gordon said.

There will also be some familiar faces returning to the league: Ken Carter, who is the person who inspired the 2005 movie “Coach Carter” featuring Samuel L. Jackson, will coach Team Rumble. One of the most successful coaches in the league’s brief history, Carter said he enjoyed coaching Slamball and when he learned of its revival, knew he had to be part of it.

“I just fell in love with it,” Carter said. “It was just creating something every day.”

Former Florida A&M Rattler Bryce Moragne ‘continues chasing dreams’

With the return of the league, Gordon and company had to find athletes to play. The approach this time was different; instead of having just basketball players, they wanted former football players and bigger athletes to see the different ways the game could be played.

While the planning was going on, former Florida A&M basketball player Bryce Moragne was working a corporate position for an international food company. A three-year player for the Rattlers, Moragne didn’t have any professional sports opportunities after earning his master’s degree.

“I didn't have the luxury like most guys to go out and play overseas or anything professional. I was working in a corporate position, but I was staying fit, staying in shape, going to the gym playing basketball,” he said.

Then a former teammate recommended Moragne to Slamball and he took an opportunity to try out. He knew about the sport before and loved to dunk, and was ecstatic to be given a chance to play. Moragne wanted to prepare for his chance, so he and his girlfriend got a membership to a trampoline park to practice and learn how to jump.

It turned out to be a massive benefit, as a majority of the beginning of tryouts was learning how to be on the trampolines and “just be comfortable in the air.” He separated himself from the others and was the No. 1 pick in the draft. He was taken by Team Lava, which was “mind blowing” to him. Going from playing pickup games to becoming a professional athlete is an opportunity Moragne said he doesn’t take for granted.

“Guys would ask me, ‘Oh, why aren’t you still playing? You’re still young, go ahead and chase your dreams,'” he said. “It was kind of just like God just opened up a door for me to continue chasing my dreams and play professionally. This sport has done that not just for me, but for a lot of players.”

Why watch Slamball?

There will be some slight changes to Slamball for the 2023 season. Gordon has drawn inspiration from the 3-point revolution in NBA and added a 4-point line in the game, giving teams not only a chance to throw it down at the rim but have sharpshooters as well. Carter plans to make it an integral part of his offense.

“My prediction is from the 4-point line, we will shoot at least 40% from a four point line, and 50% from the three point line. That's our goal,” he said. “We try to hit it on all cylinders.”

Gordon also promises more sophisticated strategies within the game, meaning there will be things “we've never seen on the Slamball court or anywhere in sports before.” He also thinks the sport is perfect for a time when viral highlights on social media are all the rage for younger sports fans, especially with players being launched up to 18 feet in the air to throw down spectacular dunks. Carter added the sport is for the whole family “because it incorporates so many different sports.”

All games for the 2023 season will be on the ESPN family of networks, and if you’re in Las Vegas, you’ll be able to watch games live from the Cox Pavilion on the UNLV Vegas. Gordon said, “you will not be disappointed.”

“You've never seen anything like this. Once you've gotten a chance to experience Slamball live or on television, it really gets under your skin,” Gordon said. “Our focus is to put the most explosive athletic product in front of people.

“These guys are really unbelievable.”

He also hopes people stick around for the entire season and the playoffs, which coincidentally is somewhat rooted with USA TODAY. In the 1989 film “Back to the Future Part II,” a headline on a future USA TODAY paper from 2015 reads “Slamball playoffs begin.”

Moragne, who’s ready to showcase his skills, thinks it'll be hard to turn away from Slamball.

“You tune in on any given night, it's going to be a highlight. It's always going to be something exciting to see on TV,” Moragne said. “Every time you tune in, you're in for a show."

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Slamball is back, and the sport promises to be bigger than ever