LeBron James And Draymond Green Part Of Professional Pickleball’s Newest Ownership Group

SportsMoney LeBron James And Draymond Green Part Of Professional Pickleball’s Newest Ownership Group Erik Matuszewski Contributor Opinions expressed by Forbes Contributors are their own. I write about businesses, news and destinations in the golf world Following New! Follow this author to stay notified about their latest stories. Got it! Sep 29, 2022, 06:04pm EDT | New! Click on the conversation bubble to join the conversation Got it! Share to Facebook Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin LeBron James and Draymond Green have met in the NBA Finals and now they’re teammates in Major League .

. . [+] Pickleball’s newest ownership group.

(Photo credit: FREDERIC J. BROWN/AFP via Getty Images) AFP via Getty Images LeBron James, Draymond Green and Kevin Love are among the newest investors in professional pickleball, as the NBA stars join an increasingly diverse group of team owners that includes Super Bowl-winning quarterback Drew Brees, entrepreneur Gary Vaynerchuk, former pro tennis player James Blake, and Milwaukee Bucks co-owner Marc Lasry. James becomes part of Major League Pickleball’s newest ownership group through LRMR Ventures, the company the NBA’s four-time MVP founded with longtime friend Maverick Carter.

Fellow NBA champions Green and Love are also part of the ownership roster that will control one of MLP’s 16 teams — expanding from 12 this year — as are investment firm SC SC Holdings, SpringHill Company CMO Paul Rivera, and Relevent Sports Group co-owner and CEO Daniel Sillman. It’s an intentionally large and varied group that MLP believes can further expand pickleball’s reach through a wealth of experience and impact across not only professional sports, but media, entertainment and branding. (It’s) “not just great for MLP, it’s a watershed moment for pickleball in general,” said Major League Pickleball Founder Steve Kuhn.

MLP’s 2022 season concludes in mid-October in Columbus, Ohio, where the winning team will take home . . .

[+] a $100,000 top prize. Major League Pickleball MLP’s 2022 season concludes Oct. 14-16 in Columbus, Ohio, with the largest single-event purse in pickleball history — $319,000.

Students from the LeBron James Family Foundation’s PROMISE Program in Akron will attend the tournament to learn and experience the fastest-growing sport in the U. S. MORE FOR YOU WWE Extreme Rules 2021 Results: Winners, News And Notes As Roman Reigns Beats The Demon The World’s Highest-Paid Soccer Players 2021: Manchester United’s Cristiano Ronaldo Reclaims Top Spot From PSG’s Lionel Messi The Good, Bad And Ugly From The Green Bay Packers’ Win Over The San Francisco 49ers The number of pickleball players in the U.

S. has jumped by more than 39% over the past two years, according to the Sports & Fitness Industry Association. Kuhn says the investment and the platform provided by James’ group will “significantly help us with our goal to reach 40 million pickleball players by 2030.

” In 2023, MLP players and teams will compete in six events for more than $2 million. RELATED NEWS EWS : Pickleball Embraces Golf’s Country Club Model With New $180 Million Florida Venture Drew Brees Becomes A Team Owner, In Pickleball Follow me on Twitter . Erik Matuszewski Editorial Standards Print Reprints & Permissions.