Alex Becker
Pickleball is the fastest growing sport in the nation and it just got a whole lot bigger.
The fairly new sport of pickleball is supposed to be a combination of tennis, ping pong, and badminton. Using a paddle and wiffle ball, pickleball has grown in popularity due to the fact that basically anyone could play. From teenagers to college intramural teams to even grandparents all over, pickleball is quickly becoming many people’s favorite sport.
Though the new craze has been growing at a crazy rate, it doesn’t seem to be stopping anytime soon. Just yesterday, superstar rapper Drake and Creed himself Michael B. Jordan purchased stake in a Major League Pickleball team. This wasn’t just any MLP team, though. The pair of entertainers bought ownership of the Brooklyn Aces — a team originally founded by Suns’ forward Kevin Durant.
Durant first bought the team while playing for the Brooklyn Nets last October. He and his business partner Rich Kleiman were the first two to financially back the organization. Following the announcement of Drake and Michael B., Keliman released a statement welcoming the duo as well as showcasing his excitement about them.
“We’re thrilled to have this incredible group of investors join the Brooklyn Aces as we continue to grow the team and raise the profile of Major League Pickleball as a whole,” Kleiman said. “It’s the idea of bringing people in that we could share in this with and utilize resources as the Aces evolve. Our investor group includes some of the savviest entrepreneurs in the business, and having this network on our cap table positions us to be successful.”
Major League Pickleball has been rapidly expanding since its inception in 2021. KD, Drake, and MBJ are far from the most famous investors, with celebrity owners such as LeBron James, Tom Brady, and all of DudePerfect also part of the league.
This is not the first time I’ve heard about MLP. However, I have yet to actually see any live pickleball action for myself. I truly believe that pickleball is growing at a fastest enough rate to become as prominent as tennis (well, maybe not tennis but at least table tennis). Yet, in order to do so they are going to need to get some sort of TV contract. While big-name owners will certainly drive in more fans, it’s hard to grow a following if there’s nothing to watch.
As for Drake and Michael B. Jordan, congratulations guys. Let’s just hope the Aces don’t look like any other Brooklyn based sports team.
