Project B Wants to Build a $5-Billion Basketball League and LeBron Is Lurking
A global basketball league backed by tech money and LeBron’s business partner is signing real players and booking real venues. The $5-billion question is whether it can actually work.
C-Tribe Society
A $5-billion basketball league is taking shape outside the NBA's walls[1]. The biggest name in the sport is hovering just close enough to keep everyone guessing.
Project B, a global basketball venture backed by tech money and advised by LeBron James's longtime business partner Maverick Carter[1], has spent the last 18 months quietly signing players, hiring executives, and lining up international venues. The women's league launches first, with tournaments planned in Valencia and Tokyo for early 2027. A men's league is expected to follow, and that is where things get interesting.
Image via Front Office Sports
Who Is Actually Behind This League?
Project B was founded in 2023 by Grady Burnett, a former Facebook and Google executive, and Geoff Prentice, co-founder of Skype[2]. Neither comes from sports. They come from platforms, which tells you something about how they see this venture.
The advisory and investor list reads like a networking event at Davos. Former Cisco CEO John Chambers is in[3]. Tennis stars Novak Djokovic and Sloane Stephens are in[3]. Former NFL quarterback Steve Young is in[3]. Candace Parker, one of the most decorated players in WNBA history, is in[3]. Financial advisors UBS and Evercore were brought on to raise institutional capital.
Then there is Carter. He stepped away from Project B in October 2025, with his spokesperson calling his involvement a completed "consultation."[4] Five months later, in March 2026, The Athletic reported he was back as an adviser and board director[5]. Burnett told the outlet the venture is focused on "extending the careers of established players" as it expands into the men's game[5].
Carter's camp still says he holds "no formal role."[5] That distinction matters less than the signal his presence sends.
Is LeBron Playing or Not?
This is the question the league wants you to ask, and they are in no rush to answer it.
ESPN reported in January 2025 that LeBron was "not involved" in Project B[6]. Six months later, a photo surfaced of LeBron, Carter, and Misko Raznatovic, the Serbian super-agent who represents Nikola Jokic, meeting on a boat in Saint-Tropez[7]. The caption teased plans for "the fall of 2026."[7]
Bill Simmons said on his podcast what most people in basketball circles are thinking: the league is "dangling LeBron" as a future participant[8]. Investors hear the pitch about "older, famous superstars nearing the end of their careers, who will do it for a bunch of money, probably equity in the league."[8]
LeBron has publicly expressed interest in becoming an NBA team owner after he retires[9]. Playing in a rival league would complicate that ambition. But LeBron has also spent his entire career expanding the definition of what a player can be. A league where athletes hold equity rather than just collect salaries fits the narrative he has been building since founding SpringHill[10].
What Makes Project B Different From Every Other NBA Rival That Failed?
The structure borrows from Formula One, not traditional American sports. Instead of fixed franchises in fixed cities, six men's teams and six women's teams would tour internationally[2], playing seven two-week tournaments across global cities from November through April[2].
The women's league has real traction. Thirteen players have signed so far[11], including Nneka Ogwumike, the president of the WNBA players' union and a Seattle Storm starter[11]. Alyssa Thomas, Jonquel Jones, and Jewell Loyd followed[11]. In April 2026, Awa Fam, the projected number one pick in the 2026 WNBA Draft, signed on[12]. Salaries reportedly start at $2 million with equity stakes in the league itself.
That compensation model is the sharpest weapon in the pitch. WNBA players have spent years fighting for pay that reflects their talent[13]. Project B is offering multiples above current WNBA salaries plus ownership[14]. Alana Beard, the league's Chief Basketball Officer, was direct about the positioning: "This is not a gimmick. We're playing five-on-five, we're playing elite basketball."[15]
The WNBA season runs May through October. Project B runs November through April. Players could theoretically do both, which makes this less a rival and more a second income stream.
The men's league is a different story. Its season directly overlaps the NBA's[16], meaning players would have to choose[16].
Image via ESPN
The Money Question Nobody Has Answered Yet
Five billion dollars is an extraordinary amount of capital for a sports league that has not played a single game[1]. For context, the entire WNBA was valued at roughly $3.4 billion in 2025. The NBA itself took decades to reach the revenue levels that would justify a $5-billion startup competitor.
Project B has denied taking sovereign wealth fund money, despite reports linking Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund to early fundraising discussions[17]. Burnett stated plainly that the league "does not have any investment from sovereign wealth funds nor any active discussions with them."[18] But Sela, a company owned by the Saudi PIF, is an event partner[18]. Project B says it pays Sela for event services rather than the reverse[18]. That distinction may matter legally. Publicly, it reads like a technicality.
The real question is not whether the money exists. UBS and Evercore do not attach their names to projects that cannot raise capital. Can a touring basketball league generate returns that justify a $5-billion valuation before it has a broadcast deal, a track record, or a single men's game on tape?
Project B's broadcast plan is YouTube[19]. That is either visionary or delusional, depending on how you feel about the future of sports media. Traditional broadcast deals come with guaranteed revenue. YouTube comes with reach and uncertainty. For a league trying to build a global audience from scratch, the platform makes strategic sense. For investors expecting predictable returns, it is a hard sell.
Something is clearly moving, though. The player signings are real[11]. The venues are booked[20]. Carter is back[5]. And LeBron is always somewhere nearby, close enough to matter but far enough away to deny[6].
Whether Project B becomes the next major professional league or the most expensive basketball experiment in history, the answer is probably less than two years away.
References
Fortune, "LeBron James' business partner is raising $5 billion for a basketball league to rival the NBA", 2025. Link
The Athletic, "What is Project B? The latest on a new global league recruiting basketball stars", 2025. Link
Chicago Sun-Times, "What the heck is Project B?", 2025. Link
ESPN via Pro Football Network, "LeBron James' Business Partner Shockingly Pulls Out of Massive $5 Billion Project", 2025. Link
The Athletic, "Maverick Carter returns as adviser to Project B basketball league", 2026. Link
ESPN, "LeBron James not involved in Project B league", 2025. Link
Front Office Sports, "LeBron James, Maverick Carter, and Misko Raznatovic meeting in Saint-Tropez", 2025. Link
Bill Simmons Podcast, "Discussion of Project B and LeBron James involvement", 2025. Link
The Athletic, "LeBron James on future NBA ownership aspirations", 2024. Link
SpringHill Company, "About SpringHill", 2024. Link
ESPN, "Project B signs 13 WNBA players including Nneka Ogwumike", 2025. Link
The Athletic, "Awa Fam signs with Project B instead of entering WNBA Draft", 2026. Link
WNBA Players Association, "WNBA Collective Bargaining Agreement negotiations", 2024. Link
Sports Business Journal, "Project B offers equity stakes to players", 2025. Link
ESPN, "Alana Beard on Project B's legitimacy as basketball league", 2025. Link
Yardbarker, "LeBron James-Linked Figure Planning New 'Project B' League to Lure NBA Players With Massive Offers", 2026. Link
Bloomberg via Reddit, "Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund linked to Project B discussions", 2025. Link
The Athletic, "Project B denies sovereign wealth fund investment, confirms Sela partnership", 2025. Link
Sports Business Journal, "Project B plans YouTube as primary broadcast platform", 2025. Link
The Athletic, "Project B books venues in Valencia, Tokyo, and other global cities", 2025. Link
