It can be argued that the off-court ventures of Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James are just as successful if not more than what he has accomplished on the basketball court. And now he is teaming with a pair of NBA All-Stars for his latest.
LRMR Ventures, the family office of LeBron and his business partner Maverick Carter, are purchasing a Major League Pickleball team as part of an all-star consortium. This consortium also includes James’ former Cleveland Cavaliers teammate Kevin Love as well as one of his biggest rivals in Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green.
Additionally, investment firm SC Holdings, Relevent Sports Group co-owner and CEO Daniel Sillman and SpringHill Company CMO Paul Rivera are also part of the purchasing group.
Major League Pickleball founder Steve Kuhn was excited about what this means for the growth of the sport. “Having LRMR Ventures, SC Holdings, and their incredible group as owners and investors in Major League Pickleball is not just great for MLP, but it’s a watershed moment for pickleball in general,” Kuhn said.
Pickleball is indeed one of the fastest-growing sports in the country. A recent survey from the Sports and Fitness Industry Association found that nearly 4.8 million people played pickleball in 2021 with an annual growth of 11.5% over the last five years. There are 66 new places to play pickleball opening up in the U.S. every month and MLP is aiming to grow pickleball to 40 million players by 2030 and there will be over $2 million in prize money across six MLP tournaments in 2023.
This team purchased by James and co. is part of a four-team expansion of MLP, which will bring the total number of teams to 16. LeBron, Love and Draymond also aren’t the first within the sports world to join in on the pickleball craze. Retired Super Bowl Champion quarterback Drew Brees as well as Milwaukee Bucks owner Marc Lasry also own MLP teams.
James says breaking Abdul-Jabbar’s scoring record would be ‘humbling’
While James always has his eye on off-court possibilities, he will never take his foot off the gas when it comes to what needs to be done on the court. Now set to enter his 20th NBA season, LeBron is set to break the NBA’s all-time scoring record currently held by Lakers legend Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.
With so many accomplishments already on his resume, LeBron admits that breaking this record is humbling for him.
“To know that I’m on the verge of breaking probably the most sought-after record in the NBA, things that people say would probably never be done, I think it’s just super humbling for myself,” James said. “I think it’s super cool.”
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