Multiple player agents, current and former league executives and support staffers told ESPN they'd been recruited to join the league ahead of a possible 2026 launch and, in some cases, were required to sign NDAs.
At times, this recruitment involved superstar LeBron James' longtime business partner Maverick Carter, who worked as an adviser to the league for months.
Last week, Carter confirmed to ESPN he had left the venture, which calls itself Project B and its representatives said in media interviews it is now focusing on starting a women's basketball league to rival the WNBA.
James' representatives, including agent Rich Paul, told ESPN that James himself was not connected to the venture.
Edit: The Athletic also had this on the Carter split
Burnett said Carter had helped Project B “along the way, but he is not involved at this time.”
It was not immediately clear why Carter is no longer a part of the group or when the split occurred, but a league source said Carter was taking meetings about a new league as late as last week. The Athletic has also identified at least three people with backgrounds in the NBA who have interviewed for jobs in the league.
“This group came to Maverick for consultation, which he gave, and he subsequently stepped away months ago,” a spokesperson for Carter told The Athletic. “He is no longer working with them or any other basketball league in Europe.”
For context, in January 2025, ESPN/Shams first reported Carter's involvement
Also earlier this summer in late July, James, Carter, and Nikola Jokic' agent were photographed together on a boat with a caption talking about plans for the fall of 2026, which were widely to believed to be referencing this venture.
Source: https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2025/jul/31/lebron-james-global-basketball-league-maverick-carter
Edit: Additional details on Project B with quotes from the stakeholders: https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6699988/2025/10/08/project-b-global-basketball-wnba-nba-threat/
The main thing Project B seems to be using to recruit players is to allow them to have equity in the league or teams themselves. Quote from the co-founder.
“Sport has become this massive global asset class,” he said. “For the vast majority, the players have not participated in the economics of that, and they’ve sat on the outside of it. That is something that is frustrating to athletes, and is — as sort of the central resources, central IP within that business — the driver of it. We think it’s really important to start with equity.”
27 comments
That’s going nowhere too
Having the codename for a women’s basketball league be called “Project B” is pretty wild
You’d be better off lighting the money on fire lol
*Plan B
Ah yes women’s basketball. The great business plan that is sure to get women to actually watch sport en masse this time. It’s definitely going to work.
lol… Unrivaled fans won’t like to hear this.
I can only assume all these ventures are about stealing investor money
just for context, this is what the Athletic reported
> It was not immediately clear why Carter is no longer a part of the group or when the split occurred, but a league source said Carter was taking meetings about a new league as late as last week.
https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6699988/2025/10/08/project-b-global-basketball-wnba-nba-threat/
This is definitely gonna fail lol
This far along and they don’t even know if they want a men’s league, or a women’s league. I’d back out too if they were just switching ideas on a whim.
Also, and most importantly: not sure how a UAE league is going to deal with the overwhelming majority of players being lesbian and black seeing as they’re not the most progressive of regions with regards to that stuff…a quick google search shows that homosexuality is still very much illegal there, and *technically* under penalty of capital punishment (looks like they haven’t done this in a while though and jail and/or deportation is more likely)
How about you invest your money into something productive for society, fucks sake
unrivaled but different
Wnba barely scrapes by. What makes them think there’s this crazy demand for woman’s basketball that’s not already being filled?
Compete for what exactly? You’re both just going to burn more cash
Another business that’s gonna fail
Let’s make a soda that rivals RC Cola.
LeBron, if you wanna waste a ton of money I can get you my banking info.
How do you end up with $1MM? Start with $100MM and invest in ridiculous ideas.
Lebron as businessman… meh.
Jesus this dude Maverick really would be nothing without LeBron. Somehow thought of a worse idea than a euro league competitor.
So he went from one failed venture to another
WNBA is surviving based on subsidies from NBA. It isn’t profitable and sustainable being independent.
Frankly speaking, following even 1 team in the NBA is a commitment. I would rather they have a minor league for fringe-nba/washed all-star/retired old men that act as a 2nd farm for the nba on top of the G-League. Even 1 on 1 with retired nba stars would be more entertaining than this shit.
I have decided to stop asking instagram models out for dates to focus on the very homely divorced moms I meet in Vons
Translation: The project has failed, and subsequently become a money laundering scheme for billionaires.
As someone who’s grown up in a Muslim household(no longer practicing), I’ve always been taught to never trust anything the Saudi government does.
This move shows they have money but no plan. It’s potentially a bad combination.
Dudes paying himself through these ventures
Bring back Slamball, but make it women