Jezelle ‘GG’ Banks has seen her Instagram following nearly double in the last 10 months.
An incoming high school sophomore, every fan Banks gains is meaningful as she looks to grow her basketball career. At 15 years old, having 28.8K people now following her journey on social media is priceless.
“It’s just, like, wow,” Banks says.
Banks is not alone. She is one of 64 players who took part in Overtime Select this summer, a new-to-the-scene women’s high school basketball league that features the top recruits in the country. Players made up eight teams that trained and competed over four weekends in August and September at Overtime Elite’s facility in Atlanta, Ga., culminating in a championship on Sunday, Sept. 15.
For OT Select, the hope is that fans take a similar interest in players like Banks from an early age and follow them through their basketball journeys. In an era that has seen fans invest their attention in women’s sports thanks to stars like Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese, the league could not have come at a better time.
“For them to be able to reap the benefits of how big women's basketball is becoming, it’s dope,” LSU’s Flau’jae Johnson says.
OT Select is an addition to Overtime’s portfolio in the sports space, which already features men’s basketball, football and boxing—but it is unlike the others.
While the men's basketball league, Overtime Elite, provides housing and schooling for its men’s high school participants, OT Select entered the amateur basketball sphere as an additive experience for women’s players during a slow time of the calendar. Differentiating the leagues in that way was based on input from players and their families on what would best suit their schedules and preferences.
Most of the players participating in OT Select are already involved in other high school circuits during their offseason, ranging from AAU to EYBL to USA Basketball. So when players are asked what drew them to participate in OT Select, they point to two things: the atmosphere and the exposure.
“They take care of us here,” team captain Jerzy Robinson says.
Overtime’s basketball facilities are far from a typical high school gym. The women get access to the same equipment as the men, work out with trainers, are outfitted in gear from sponsor Adidas, have constant access to practice courts and specially-prepared food and play games on a show-court that may outdo most colleges.
“It’s super fun and super different,” Robinson says.
OT Select is meeting its audience where it’s living—on social media. With an in-house control room, production is operated at a high level with games streamed live on Instagram, TikTok and YouTube, along with being simulcast on local Bally Sports networks.
Much like its players, the league does not shy away from its key audience of Gen Z consumers. That approach is rooted in Overtime’s beginnings as a media company that grew by largely sharing highlights of top prospects.
“Social is a core aspect of our business,” OT Select director Sascha Malas says. “We’re trying to inspire the next fandom of sports generation across the board through all our leagues.”
OT Select takes advantage of its nonstop access to players by constantly documenting interactions, practices and plays. Throughout any day at the OTE facility, there are multiple producers with cell phones and professional cameras capturing video and mic-ing up players. No highlight or inside joke is left behind.
Of course, there are boundaries with what is shared, but the constant capture allows the content team to share more about the players on social media while leveraging Overtime’s 10.7 million Instagram followers. From taking advantage of trends with playful moments (very kind, very demure) to the biggest crossovers on the court, OT Select is tapping into a young fan base to bring more exposure to its players and introduce brands to the next faces of the game.
One player already taking advantage of the NIL landscape is Robinson, the No. 1 recruit in the class of 2026, who has a deal with Nike and is signed with Klutch Sports. Having added 23.2K Instagram followers since joining the league, Robinson is learning first-hand from OT Select how to build her platform and maximize career opportunities.
“I think it’s really just hype, a lot of content, a lot of fun and great competition,” Robinson says of what separates OT Select from other leagues. “I think they really use their page to pump us up, the girls game and things like that. So it’s a lot of fun.”
Players are especially looking to boost their profiles going into their college careers. Twins Mia and Mya Pauldo, who have already committed to Tennessee’s 2025 class, were attracted to how Overtime is helping fans get to know them even before they suit up for the Vols.
“This league helps you build your brand and help audiences learn more about you, your personality on and off the court,” Mia says. “They connect you with brands, a lot of different things and opportunities to show people who you are.”
What OT Select is accomplishing for young women in basketball has not gone unnoticed. WNBA players such as the New York Liberty’s Breanna Stewart have put their support behind the league and act as advisors to the players. Many college and professional athletes also make frequent stops at Overtime Elite’s facility.
The star power support was on display over OT Select’s All-Star Takeover weekend in August, where the best players from the league participated in a 5v5 game along with one-on-one and three-point competitions. Players were coached and mentored by Johnson and UConn’s Paige Bueckers (Bueckers’s team won the 5v5 game for the second straight year, much to Johnson’s chagrin), while USC’s JuJu Watkins and Arizona’s Jada Williams attended the weekend as mentors and spent time with the players.
“It’s just so much fun getting to interact with the next generation of women’s basketball players,” Bueckers said. “To be able to give back and come here and have fun is awesome.”
Johnson is also quick to point out how she has benefitted from Overtime’s media-first environment in her career, citing that as one of the top things that prepared her for handling the off-the-court demands of LSU’s national title run in 2023. Current players echo the same sentiment, with Banks pointing out that she has become more comfortable in front of cameras and talking to the media.
Growing up largely without a mentor in the women’s basketball space, Johnson knows how lucky the current Overtime Select players are to have this kind of experience early in their careers.
“I didn’t have this opportunity, you know what I’m saying?,” Johnson says “To be on such a stage, and it’s because they’re such elite players. Just seeing all the good things that they're getting, seeing how the rise of women’s basketball is affecting them. Three years ago, this league would never [have] happened, four or five years ago, six years ago.”
In a women’s basketball landscape where there are many opportunities for players to shape their game, the best in the world see value in what OT Select has to offer. The league understands the landscape of the sport is changing, and so are the needs of up-and-coming women’s basketball players. With media attention increasing and NIL opportunities growing, the next generation of players will experience different challenges than those of previous years.
That’s where OT Select comes in: To best prepare the athletes who will become household names in the years to come. By presenting them with training in financial literacy, public relations and media, along with providing social media exposure and hands-on experience with top players in the game, the sport’s future stars have the building blocks for career success—no matter where their basketball journeys take them.
This article was originally published on www.si.com as Meet Overtime Select, the League Elevating Women’s Basketball’s Future Stars.
