LeBron James, Kevin Love and Draymond Green bought a pickleball franchise
LeBron James and Draymond Green are enemies on the basketball court but good friends off it. So it's no surprise that they are going into business together. As part of an ownership group that includes LeBron's former teammate Kevin Love, and King James' friend and business partner Maverick Carter, they've bought a franchise in Major League Pickleball.
Major League Pickleball is considered an "upstart" in the world of pickleball, going up against entrenched rivals the Professional Pickleball Association and the Association of Pickleball Professionals - the only one sanctioned by USA Pickleball. Yes, there are three major groups for professional pickleball in America. There's even two magazines — InPickleball and the creatively-named Pickleball Magazine. The rivalry is fierce, with the PPA banning players who compete in the MPL, just like the PGA Tour banned golfers who jumped to the LIV Tour.
As for the sport itself, it's a hybrid of tennis and badminton played with paddles and a wiffle ball. It's relatively new — USA Pickleball only started in 2005 — but it got much more popular during the pandemic.
James, Green, and Love join former tennis player James Blake as athlete owners in MPL — Blake founded a team called The Lions with Milwaukee Bucks owner Marc Lasry. The league is expanding from 12 teams to 16, so these may not be the last NBA pickleball owners we see, as long as LeBron and Draymond's experience isn't too sour.
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