BROOKLYN, N.Y. — A new league for the country’s best under-18 boys basketball players, with LeBron James and Kevin Durant among its founding backers, was unveiled Tuesday and plans to start playing in April 2027.
The Futures Basketball League will split 120 prospects, members of the 2028, 2029, 2030 and 2031 high school classes, among 12 regional teams. Teams will square off across 10 event weekends in big U.S. cities between April and August, with a title weekend to close the season, and the league plans to stream games or air them nationally.
The ownership group features LRMR Ventures, run by James and Maverick Carter, and Boardroom Sports Holdings, run by Durant and Rich Kleiman. Derrick Rose, the top pick in 2008, and Paolo Banchero, the top pick in 2022, each own a team too, as does Gary Vaynerchuk.
Players will be paid for their name, image and likeness and can choose cash, an equity stake in the league or a mix of the two, while still signing their own deals with shoe companies and other sponsors. League officials said several top prospects have already signed NIL agreements, with the first names to be announced in the coming weeks.
League chairman and co-founder Jason Stein said elite young players are now scattered across more than 200 teams in seven spring and summer circuits, often without fair NIL value or professional coaching. Organizers said the calendar will avoid conflicts with school seasons, college recruiting windows, the players association’s Top 100 Camp and national team duty.
MADE Hoops, a grassroots platform backed by Durant and LRMR, will run operations, and the league also committed $1 million to MADE Hoops’ charitable arm, the MADE For All Foundation, which funds scholarships and facilities for young players.
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