Games will be won and lost, hearts broken, reputations made or damaged, and deals signed.
With more than 50 scouts prowling the sidelines during the under-19 world championships which begin in Auckland today, the world's finest young basketballers will be playing for more than just national pride.
"It's the biggest opportunity of their lives," event director Dave Mee told the Otago Daily Times.
More than 30 NBA scouts have registered and at least 20 other scouts are expected to attend the two-week long tournament looking for the next LeBron James or Kobe Bryant.
"It is a massive event from Fiba's perspective, and from a player's perspective it is really the big stepping stone for anyone wanting to play international and professional basketball."
The No 1 pick in the NBA draft this year, Blake Griffin, played in the last championship and the tournament is a launching pad for careers, Mee said.
As well as the scouts with their clipboards, ill-fitting suits, bloated expense accounts and constantly ringing mobile phones, 140 million viewers worldwide are expected to tune in.
"I guess it is quite hard for Kiwis to understand how big a deal this really is because basketball is such a big game internationally."
Between 20-30 international media are expected and interest from within New Zealand has also been encouraging, Mee said.
"We're expecting pretty decent crowds too . . . but it is quite hard because we are expecting most of the sales to be walk-ups.
Time will tell and a lot of it depends on how well the New Zealand team does."
Mee hopes the New Zealand games will attract crowds of between 3000 to 4000.
For a small province, Otago has a big presence at the tournament.
Former Otago Boys High School pupils Morgan Nathan, Tom Rowe and Sam King, and former Waitaki Boys High School pupil Riki Buckrell, are in the Junior Tall Blacks squad.
The New Zealanders completed their preparations with a 10-point win over Syria on Tuesday and open their campaign against one of the competition favourites, Argentina, tonight.
The United States is another team expected to perform well.
One of the star guards, Seth Curry, will have a lot to live up to.
His brother, Stephen Curry, was selected with the seventh pick in the NBA draft to play for the Golden State Warriors.
Spain, Greece and Australia are also expected to shine.
Spain, though, will probably be missing point guard Ricky Rubio, who was picked up in the draft by the Minnesota Timberwolves.
