Overtime Elite might just have the most unique sports experience in Atlanta. The league of highly-touted prep players – both paid and in some cases unpaid – to keep college eligibility, clash in matchups throughout the winter in a stylish arena located in Atlantic Station. The in-game experience features emcee Bria Janelle, a DJ who spins instrumentals throughout the games, while you can catch a member of the popular online collective AMP commentate games aside a basketball legend like Isaiah Thomas. The younger one, to be specific. The coaches in the league have vast NBA experience like Kevin Ollie to Damien Wilkins.
Some of this year’s biggest names in the league include the Thompson twins, Ausar and Amen, who are both projected to get selected in the top 10 of the 2023 NBA Draft. Other notable names include Trey Parker, the viral prospect known for his insane dunks, Jahzare Jackson, the former AAU teammate of Bronny James, and Rob Dillingham, the five-star Kentucky commit who left Ye’s Donda Academy to join OTE this past fall.
Each of the aforementioned player’s teams dawned MLK-inspired jerseys on Jan. 13 to kick off Martin Luther King Jr. Day weekend. The designers, from Black-owned and Southern-based brands RGB, Good Times and Raunchy, spoke to rolling out about the inspiration behind the designs.
Where did the inspiration for your design come from?
RGB: I’m super inspired by just the Atlanta skyline. Coming down 75 and just that imaginary line that you see is just something that’s amazing to me. It was definitely something I wanted to incorporate.
Jason Ross of Raunchy: The colorway inspiration came from another fashion designer, his name is Manolo Prado. He designs hats for New Era, and he did a new flip for an MLK colorway, so we took inspiration from his MLK colorway, added some awards and accolades that Martin Luther King got [and] Morehouse College and we came up with the jerseys.
SoSe of Raunchy: There are subtle hints of Atlanta throughout the jersey, I’m not going to call each one of them out, but if you pay attention to the jersey, it’s Atlanta through and through with the YNG Dreamerz’s DNA on it.
Anthony McDonald of Good Times: I think the beauty of fashion is individuality. If you look at my jersey, RGB and Raunchy, it’s all different. It’s solid, it’s through different creative minds, but we all have the same mission.
I come from a vintage background, so if you look at the actual jersey, it mimics … vintage. Then, Good Times’ colors are purple, green and red. If you look at the jersey, it mimics our colors. So, it’s the individuality standpoint, but it’s still again, great to see all of us come together for a common purpose.
