Russell Westbrook is taking his on-court intensity to a startup trying to stand up a worldwide basketball circuit. Project B says he will be an equity holder, carry the co-founder title, act as chief strategy officer, and sit on the board.
He says his remit is to lead the basketball-side strategy. "I will act as somebody that helps strategize across all basketball business and will lead that for Project B," Westbrook said, adding, "I will do that and attack it the same way that you have seen me attack on the basketball court."
Project B is targeting a January launch. The plan is to take the show on the road through Asia, Europe and the Americas, running both men's and women's tournaments, with a full week of festival programming at every stop.
The startup has signed on several WNBA names, among them Alyssa Thomas, Jonquel Jones and Azzi Fudd. According to reports, several players are being extended ownership equity along with pay packages exceeding $1 million.
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A Bloomberg report last year said Project B had tapped UBS and Evercore to pursue $5 billion in funding. The venture now counts institutional money and individual backers, including former NFL quarterback Steve Young, tennis pro Sloane Stephens, and David Krane, the chief executive of GV, which was previously called Google Ventures.
Co-founder and chief operating officer Grady Burnett, a onetime Facebook executive, framed the ownership model as deliberately broad. "Growing up in the tech world, every single person has a stake in the business, and it just seemed odd that that hasn't been the archetype for how things have grown in the sports world," he said. "It seemed obvious that if we're going to build a business from the ground up, let's make sure all of the constituents have an opportunity to own, drive value and grow that business together."
Project B is part of a wider push to build pro hoops outside the NBA and WNBA, alongside 3-on-3 outfits like Unrivaled and Big3, and as the NBA explores a competition in Europe. Westbrook's new role joins a growing off-court portfolio that includes collaborating with a group to create a combined sports-and-entertainment complex in Oklahoma City, investing in English Premier Club Leeds United, and running fashion label Honor the Gift.