Bryson Tiller took a huge leap when he decided to play for the City Reapers of Overtime Elite, a league designed to give 16 to 20 year olds an alternative route to becoming a professional basketball player. After all, Tiller became the youngest player in the competition when he joined in July 2022. However, despite the gap in age and experience, the young forward showed out, averaging 11.5 points and 6.9 boards for his championship-winning team.

At the end of the day, the five-star recruit from the recruiting class of 2025 has nothing but a fond recollection of his experiences playing against the tough opposition in Overtime Elite.

“It's really been a great experience. Playing against a high, high level of competition is always going to get you better and playing against potential lottery picks and Draft eligible guys it is really all that you could ask for. ” Tiller said, per Eric Bossi of 247 Sports. “The skill development is great. The teaching is great. The weight room is great. So I'm just really blessed to be here.”

As the old adage goes, “iron sharpens iron.” There is no better way to improve than see if you could measure up to the game's best. This kind of mindset coming from one of the most promising prospects in the 2026 NBA Draft Class in Bryson Tiller should go a long way towards his development as one of the best multi-faceted young forwards in the game.

Nonetheless, playing against tougher and older opposition is nothing new for the 17-year old Tiller. Last summer, Tiller played a starring role for the Atlanta Xpress AAU program despite playing up two age groups, and he also was one of the few in his batch to receive an invitation in USA Basketball's U-17 minicamp, per Jason Jordan of Sports Illustrated.

Beyond these experiences, it's clear that playing for in the Overtime Elite league has helped him improve his mental game as well. Not only did he learn a lot about leadership from Amen and Ausar Thompson, two of the most coveted prospects from the 2023 NBA Draft Class, he also learned a “we not me” mindset from coach Dave Leitao. It will be very interesting to see how Tiller develops from here.