Kevin Durant Follows LeBron James In Becoming Team Owner In Professional Pickleball League

Kevin Durant has purchased an ownership stake in a professional pickleball expansion team, joining fellow NBA stars LeBron James, Kevin Love and Draymond Green as Major League Pickleball franchise owners.

Durant, a two-time NBA champion, former league MVP and four-time scoring champ, is the latest athlete to get involved in the nation’s fastest-growing sport.

Seven-time Super Bowl champion Tom Brady and former No. 1 ranked women’s tennis player Kim Clijsters invested in an expansion team earlier this month, while James, Love and Green bought into MLP last month through a company that James, a four-time NBA MVP, founded with longtime friend Maverick Carter. Super Bowl winning quarterback, Drew Brees, is part of another ownership group, as is former professional tennis player James Blake.

Major League Pickleball is adding four expansion teams for the 2023 season, when 16 teams will play a total of six tournaments for more than $2 million in prize money.

Durant bought into MLP through Thirty Five Ventures (35V), the company he co-founded with entrepreneur Rich Kleiman. 35V has delved into professional sports team ownership before, having acquired an ownership stake in Major League Soccer’s Philadelphia Union in 2020 and more recently becoming a minority investor in NJ/NY Gotham FC of the National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL).

With the MLP franchise, 35V will oversee player relations, marketing, sponsorships, merchandising and uniquely positioned to create additional opportunities for the team — and the league more broadly — through its media network called Boardroom.

“35V is committed to investing in the future of sports and emerging opportunities, and Major League Pickleball is a league we are incredibly excited about,” said Kleiman. “We can’t wait to build this team from the ground up as well as work to elevate the sport and the league to unprecedented heights. As an avid pickleball player and fan, the interest in the sport was a natural fit.”

Durant and his company have helped refurbish basketball courts in needy communities worldwide through an initiative named “Build It and They Will Ball.” They have plans to pursue similar efforts with the sport of pickleball, which has seen a 39% jump in U.S. participation over the past two years.

Said MLP Founder and CEO Steve Kuhn: “We’re especially excited about their plans to bring pickleball to underserved communities – something they have done with basketball for years.”

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