Shon Abaev, a junior ranked in the top 30 of the 2025 recruiting class and Florida’s fourth-best player, is set to make his Overtime Elite (OTE) debut tonight with Fear Of God Athletics at the OTE arena in Atlanta. Abaev and his teammates, fresh off their NBA Top 100 camp championship victory earlier this year, aim to maintain their winning momentum in the OTE season. Rolling out spoke with Abaev before his debut to discuss his transition to Overtime.
What does it mean to be part of the inaugural Fear Of God Athletics team?
It’s a blessing. Being part of OTE, knowing that Jerry Lorenzo himself is trusting us to wear his stuff and be the first players to ever wear his clothes and shoes on the court is just a big blessing and honor. So I thank God every day and we fight, we work hard every day in practice so we can compete on the court and do the best we can.
Why did you choose to join OTE?
I feel like as a team, we’ve been playing against OT for two years already with our high school team. And I feel like we felt joining OT was the best move for us as a team. You know, just exposure, the great competition here. We felt like we could compete and win at the highest level, so that’s why we did it.
What will be the hardest part of joining OTE?
You know we still have our regular high school schedule, so we have way more games than any other high school team. So being able to take care of our bodies, stay mentally prepared every day, making sure that we’re able to eat correctly and just be ready to fight 100% every game we have.
What will surprise people the most about your game?
The fact that the way I can move at my height and the way I play at my height. A lot of players at my height don’t move the way I do. So, just showing them that.
Anyone in OTE you are looking forward to playing?
Yeah, I’m not saying names, but they know who they are.
What is your goal for this season?
To win a championship. That’s our main goal since we first joined OTE. Like I said on the podcast, when we first found out that we are joining Overtime, the first thing that came to mind was to win the championship, and we feel like we can do that.
