THAT’S A THING?

Kevin Durant Now Owns a Major League Pickleball Team

Durant joins Tom Brady and Lebron James, along with other star athletes, in investing in the newly founded league.

NBA star Kevin Durant is officially the owner of a Major League Pickleball team. Durant joins other major athletes, such as Tom Brady and Lebron James, in partnering with the league, which was reportedly founded in 2021. The MLP plans to expand from its current roster of 12 teams to 16 next season. The league’s website says “when pickleball wins, we all win.” Their goal is “to elevate and grow the sport we love in everything we do.” The recreational sport burst in popularity by 40 percent from 2019 to 2021, and has roughly five million daily players, The New York Times reported. Durant still hasn’t picked a city for his team to represent and is still looking for players for said team. “We really, really want to leave our mark from day one on how hard our team is going to play and how successful we're going to be as a group,” he said.