Paolo Banchero Kickstarts Futures Basketball League with LeBron & Durant

Oct 23, 2026; Orlando, Florida, USA; Orlando Magic forward Paolo Banchero (5) controls the ball against the Minnesota Timberwolves in the first quarter at Kia Center. Mandatory Credit: Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Paolo Banchero Kickstarts Futures Basketball League with LeBron & Durant

Originally posted on Orlando Magic on SI
By Ryan Kaminski | Last updated Nov 10, 2026 5:02 PM ET

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The Futures Basketball League looks to flip the the future of high school basketball on its head.

Launching in April of 2027, the Future Basketball league looks to find the Top 120 basketball players under the age of 18 in the country for this expenditure. The league looks to provide NIL opportunity to the best of the best. In doing so, another goal seems to be remodeling the current landscape of independent grassroots basketball events, often ran by shoe companies like Nike and Adidas.

Could any of these sneaker companies look to team up with this new league in the future? That answer is unclear; partly because, for the time being, the athletes are running the show.

First at FOS: LeBron James and Kevin Durant are backing a new high school basketball league.

Futures Basketball League plans to field 12 teams in April 2027. Eligible players could take part or all of their NIL pay in equity.
— Front Office Sports (@FOS) November 10, 2026

Why LeBron, Durant, Paolo started Futures Basketball League

IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

According to Sports Business Journal, a "cohort of prominent athletes and sports investors have launched Futures Basketball League (FBL), a spring-to-summer circuit for top under-18 boys basketball prospects.

FBL’s first season will run from April to August of 2027 and feature 12 teams and 120 athletes (from high school classes 2028-2031) competing across a schedule of 10 weekend events."

The names behind this list will ring a bell, especially between the list of athletes and former players on the hardwood. LeBron James, Kevin Durant, Derrick Rose are just a few names teaming up with the Orlando Magic's Paolo Banchero to kickstart this new youth basketball league. Maverick Carter and Richard Kleiman, each of James' and Durant's respective business partners, will also back the deal, along with noted entrepreneur Gary Vaynerchuk.

With many proven investors behind this idea, this isn't your average startup; this is closer to a sure thing. When you combine a proven concept with lethal branding and investment behind it, initial success feels more like just a matter of time; while maintaining that hype into fully rebuilding the development pipeline paths in grassroots basketball will takes some time. It will be hard to fail, unless the next generation of players don't buy in; but, when you build a tournament hosted by the likes of LeBron, Durant, Rose, and Banchero, chances are the kids will show up.

With a handful of Nike's most predominant faces teaming up here to create a direct competitor to Nike's EYBL league, how both parties navigate the murky waters ahead will dictate their futures.

Setting up the next generation of athletes to maximize their earnings at the youngest stage possible, rather than be taken advantage of buy outsiders deemed wiser than them, is ultimately an ideal goal. Achieving that goal while still keeping players' basketball development at heart and building a new brand for youth basketball will be difficult to balance, but it appears these star players are up to the challenge.

This article first appeared on Orlando Magic on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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