LeBron James’ investment in Major League Pickleball drew ’11 BILLION eyeballs’ to the league

LeBron James is a cautious investor, so his decision to put his money in one of the country’s fastest growing sports, people paid attention.

According to Major League Pickleball founder Steve Kuhn, King James’ investment – alongside fellow NBA stars Kevin Love and Draymond Green – drew billions of people’s attention.

‘This year, stories about Major League Pickleball hit 11 billion eyeballs,’ Kuhn told TMZ, ‘and the LeBron announcement alone was four billion.’ 

LeBron James’ investment into pickleball has seen huge growth in interest of the sport

Major League Pickleball owner Steve Kuhn said ‘billions’ have read stories on the sport since LeBron’s investment back in September of 2022

LeBron and his friends initially invested in a pickleball team back in September of 2022, and Kuhn says interest exploded after that.

But even before James’ investment, the sport was on a noticeable rise in the United States – in part thanks to attention from other stars in the world of sports.

Other athletes to join in the league include Tom Brady, Drew Brees, and Patrick Mahomes of the NFL, tennis star Naomi Osaka, and NBA superstar Kevin Durant.

The sport has grown in popularity & has drawn many famous investors from the sports world

James’ agent Rich Paul is also an investor, and told TMZ earlier this month that he believes the sport will ‘eventually [become] a huge deal’ in America.

LeBron has notably invested in a number of other teams through a stake in Fenway Sports Group.

That sees him own minority stakes in Liverpool FC, the Boston Red Sox, the Pittsburgh Penguins, and NASCAR team RFK Racing.