The Basketball Tournament, or TBT as it’s more commonly referred to, is a single-elimination gauntlet with a $1 million prize at stake. This year’s tournament spanned 17 days and featured 64 teams.

In a competition filled with familiar names like the newly minted TBT Defensive Player of the Year Willie Cauley-Stein, the sixth overall pick in the 2015 NBA Draft, a familiar face to Boston Celtics fans, Jared Sullinger, propelled Carmen’s Crew, a team filled with Ohio State men’s basketball alums, to the championship.

Naturally, leading his team on a title run that he capped with the game-winning shot earned Sullinger 2024 TBT MVP honors.

The Celtics selected Sullinger 21st overall in the 2012 NBA Draft. The former Buckeye spent all but 11 games of his four-plus seasons in the Association in Boston. There, he averaged 10.8 points and 7.5 rebounds.

Then came that brief stint with the Toronto Raptors before continuing his playing career in China. He joined the Cangrejeros de Santurce of the Puerto Rican Baloncesto Superior Nacional (BSN) league earlier this summer. Shortly after their season ended, Sullinger and Carmen’s Crew began their run to the TBT championship.