After disrupting golf, soccer, horse racing, sailing, and several other professional sports, Saudi Arabia is turning its attention to hoops.
What happened: Sela, an events firm owned by the Saudi sovereign wealth fund, is teaming up with the Singaporean government and Macau-based casino giant Galaxy Entertainment to back a new basketball league. The to-be-named organization will look to directly challenge the NBA.
- The endeavour was initially conjured by a group of investors and is being led by Maverick Carter, a sports business maven and the right-hand man to LeBron James.
Instead of a traditional league with home games and away games, this league plans to have a circuit where six men’s and six women’s teams travel to eight different host cities to compete, with the location changing every two weeks. Singapore and Macau could be potential hosts.
Why it matters: The league will likely try to attract big names by offering players the chance to earn bigger salaries with a less intense schedule. The strategy has a track record, with Saudi league LIV Golf stealing top golfers from the PGA (now the two are discussing a merger).
Yes, but: A 2023 survey of 70 players found that only 7.1% of respondents felt playing too many games was the top issue facing the league. Likewise, just 1.4% felt that player pay was the top issue.—QH