LeBron and Durant want to revolutionize USA youth basketball
A new league, 120 young prospects and a chance to get paid. The Futures Basketball League aims to change American basketball, with LeBron and Durant among its investors
LeBron James and Kevin Durant are looking to the future of American basketball. And this time, it’s about what happens away from the NBA floor. The two stars are investing in a new project that aims to transform the path for the best young players in the United States.
It’s called the Futures Basketball League, and it will launch in April 2027 with 120 of the country’s top under-18 prospects. The big change? Players will be able to earn money through deals tied to their name, image and likeness without losing their eligibility to play high school or college basketball.
It’s a significant change for a system that has long been the subject of debate in the United States.
How the futures basketball league will work
The goal is to build a structured youth league that brings together the top American prospects and offers them a development path closer to what they’d find in professional basketball.
Right now, many young prospects play on separate summer circuits, often run or sponsored by major sports brands, without necessarily facing the strongest competition in their age group.
Jason Stein, the new league’s president and co-founder, sees several shortcomings in that system.
The country’s top 150 under-18 players are spread across more than 200 teams and seven different leagues during the spring and summer. It isn’t fair that they aren’t adequately compensated for the value of their likeness or given a professional coaching structure
Jason Stein
The Futures Basketball League will launch with 12 teams, each tied to a specific region of the United States. The season will run from April through August and end with the crowning of a champion.
Teams will recruit players from their respective regions, but the league itself will handle their contracts and compensation.
LeBron, Durant and Derrick Rose: who’s investing?
There are some big names behind the new league.
LeBron James is investing through LRMR, the fund he founded with longtime business partner Maverick Carter, while Kevin Durant is involved through Boardroom Sports Holdings, the investment firm he started with Rich Kleinman.
Other investors include Paolo Banchero, Derrick Rose and Gary Vaynerchuk.
Rose will do more than invest: he’ll also oversee the Chicago team and play a direct role in developing its young players.
It’s something I wish I’d had when I was a kid playing basketball
Derrick Rose
The former NBA MVP is also working on a financial literacy program to help young players understand the financial side of a potential professional career.
Young players will get paid: how NIL deals work
One of the most intriguing aspects is how players will get paid. Through name, image and likeness (NIL) deals, players will be able to earn money from the commercial use of their name and image while remaining eligible to compete in high school and college.
The league hasn’t disclosed how much it plans to pay, but Derrick Rose has spoken of potentially life-changing sums for the players. They’ll be able to choose between cash, an equity stake in the league or a combination of the two.
The model is designed to recognize the financial value of top prospects before they enter college or professional basketball.
A revolution for American basketball?
The project also aims to improve how young players develop in the United States by putting more emphasis on the quality of practices and on growing together as a team.
According to Stein, the current system doesn’t always give players the development path they need and often rewards individual performances at the expense of building a team.
To illustrate the problem, the co-founder pointed to a striking stat: no U.S.-born player has won the NBA MVP award since 2018.
Stein believes the recent dominance of international stars should prompt American basketball to take a closer look at how it develops players.
Of course, changing U.S. youth basketball won’t be easy. The Futures League will need to persuade top prospects to leave the traditional circuits, secure television deals and build relationships with major sportswear companies.
With investors such as LeBron James, Kevin Durant and Derrick Rose, though, there’s no shortage of ambition. The goal is clear: give young players a more professional development path and a chance to earn money before they reach the NBA.