The Historical Side of Philip "Hot Sauce" Champion
Philip Champion (born June 14, 1976 in Orlando, Florida) also known as "Hot Sauce", is an American basketball player who has played on the Streetball AND1 Mixtape Tour from its creation in 2000. Champion is six-foot-one and weighs 160 pounds and is widely regarded as the most famous streetball player in the world.Originally from Orlando, Champion spent the majority of his youth in Columbus, Georgia. During high school, he was cut from the team during both his sophomore and junior year because of his style of basketball. He played his Freshman year, which was the only organized basketball he played in high school. He decided not to even try out his senior year. After high school he found himself in Atlanta. He found life at Run N’ Shoot, spending long hours in pick-up games and solitary practices, developing his ball-handling skills with his brother Kevin Jones.
Champion and his (now ex) manager and Mark Edwards met at Run N’ Shoot early in 1999 and the two formed a friendship. Then, a few years ago, Champion violated the terms of his probation and, because he could not pay the $752 fine issued by the judge, found himself in jail. In the meantime Edwards, who had begun aggressively promoting Champion’s game, was contacted by AND1, which wanted to arrange for Champion to participate in some of the organized games they were holding on outdoor courts. Edwards went back to Run N’ Shoot, unaware that Champion had been incarcerated. After learning of Champion's predicament through a mutual friend, Edwards, an attorney, arranged to pay his fine and headed for Los Angeles, CA and the AND1 game. Champion joined the AND1 team in the summer of 2000.
In 2006, he played a role in the movie Crossover. On January 27, it was announced that Champion had signed with the College Park Spyders of the present American Basketball Association. [
