Is basketball about to face its LIV Golf moment? Perhaps, in the form of a new start-up contest brewing under the direction of Maverick Carter, the sports marketing guru and business partner of LeBron James. It is still very early days. The group has no name, no headquarters and no launch date. It only has around 30 employees, and is still in the process of raising money. UBS is running a funding round with a target of $5bn. But it has some wealthy backers, including Skype co-founder Geoff Prentice. And now it is beginning to reel in some strategic partners.

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February 11, 2025 | 9:58 am EST Update

Per team sources, it wasn’t hard to convince Lakers owner Jeanie Buss that this was a move worth making. She spoke with Pelinka about the covert trade talks in the days following Pelinka’s Jan. 7 meeting with Harrison in Dallas — both over the phone and in person — giving the green light to go get the player who shared a special connection with Bryant.

On the first night that Dončić was an official member of the storied franchise, the incumbent superstar, James, followed his regular pregame routine and took the floor at approximately 3:30 p.m. local time for a game against Golden State that was still four hours away. This isn’t the norm in the NBA, where most players — Dončić among them — typically don’t hit the hardwood until about two hours before tipoff. But James, as we’ve come to learn in these past 22 seasons, is anything but normal.

In talking about the impact that the former All-Star is already having with the Spurs just four games in, Wemby departed from X’s and O’s and strategy. He started to chuckle as he revealed bits of a conversation he picked up on between two Wizards players. “I even hear the opponents talking about it now,” the reigning Rookie of the Year said about how teams discuss guarding Fox. “Some player from Washington was asked to pick him (Fox) up full court,” Wembanyama laughed again as he revealed what he’d heard. “De’Aaron draws the foul. He (the Wizards player) goes to his teammate, ‘He asked me to pick him up full court. Doesn’t he know him?’”

“I think it’s going to be a process. I think there’s going to be a lot of work that we need to put in,” Rajakovic told The Athletic at the University of Houston on Saturday. “(Ingram) is very open. He’s very willing to accept what this team is doing. And he already started using his voice with the team and talking in the film sessions. He’s opening up, which is great. I really respect that.

A group trying to bring a team to the city has filed a formal bid with the WNBA, three sources briefed on the matter told The Athletic. Former Bucks co-owner Marc Lasry is the lead investor in the group trying to bring another team to Texas, through his investment firm, Avenue Capital, while perennial NBA All-Star Kevin Durant and former University of Texas star and Houston Comets player Fran Harris are both involved with the bid, according to a person briefed on the bid. The team would likely play at the Moody Center, where the Longhorns compete. The group plans to build a practice facility for the prospective team if it wins the bid.