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LeBron James and Kevin Durant have launched a new youth basketball league that they say is for “the best U18 boys basketball players in the country.”

The Futures Basketball League (FBL) will launch in spring 2027 and will feature “top prospects from the high school classes of 2028 through 2031 together on 12 regional teams for one national season — competing against each other every week in front of a national audience, earning NIL compensation, and training inside a comprehensive system for coaching, development and education," according to a release.

The league claims it “establishes a critical new pathway for the country’s blue-chip recruits on the way to college basketball stardom, the NBA or international leagues.” Orlando Magic star Paolo Banchero and former NBA MVP Derrick Rose will serve as “founding team owners.”

“America produces more raw basketball talent than anywhere in the world, but the system around these athletes hasn’t risen to their level,” said Jason Stein, co-founder and Chairman of FBL. “Futures is changing that by investing in the development of these young men on and off the court, recognizing their value, and giving fans around the world a chance to watch the future of basketball.”

The announcement of the Futures league follows the announcement last month of ATLAS, an international high school league that will play in both North America and Europe from November until February, with playoffs starting in March.

The Futures league promises to bring top players “together in one league built around them.”

“As someone who grew up playing grassroots and then college ball, and watched another kid from Akron completely change the landscape of high school basketball, I’ve seen how the game has evolved over the years both for the athletes and the ecosystem surrounding them,” said Maverick Carter, longtime business partner of James and an FBL co-founder serving on its Board of Directors. “With interest in these athletes at an all-time high, I believe Futures is the premier league with the right infrastructure to really help grow and develop players while setting them up for long-term success.”

Stein and Carter are joined on FBL’s Board of Directors by co-founder Rich Kleiman, CEO of Boardroom.

Players will be “eligible to earn NIL compensation — while maintaining the freedom to enter NIL partnerships with other brands, including footwear companies and endemic sponsors. Players can elect to receive their NIL compensation in cash, league equity (subject to administrative approvals), or a combination of both. FBL has already begun signing top prospects across all four classes, 2028 through 2031, to NIL agreements and will announce its first players in the weeks ahead.”

“Today’s top 18-under players are brands and media platforms long before college,” said Chris Rivers, FBL’s Vice President, Basketball Operations, and former Senior Director of NIL Recruiting at Excel Sports Management. “I’ve spent my career around these athletes, and the value they create has never been clearer. Futures is where they get paid for it, with the support to responsibly grow their brands and set the foundation for what comes next.”

The league also announced “a $1 million pledge to the MADE For All Foundation, a nonprofit created by youth basketball platform MADE Hoops, which funds scholarships and community initiatives for youth players, programs and facilities nationwide — expanding access to coaching, competition and development.”

On the court, FBL’s inaugural season tips off in April 2027 and runs through August, with teams competing across 10 league weekends of live events in top U.S. markets culminating with a national championship weekend.

That overlaps with the summer grassroots circuits for Nike, Under Armor and adidas grassroots summer circuits, and it’s unclear how competition for top players will play out.

“Inspired by the structures of Formula 1, the World Cup and the Little League World Series, each team plays a high-stakes schedule where every game carries weight,” according to the release. “Teams are led by USA Basketball Gold–licensed coaches, and games will be streamed or distributed on national television. The calendar is built around players’ lives — protecting the high school season, NCAA live periods, USA Basketball commitments, and the NBPA Top 100 Camp.”

The league has named Connor Schell as Special Advisor. The former global head of content at ESPN, co-creator of 30 for 30 and executive producer The Last Dance, Schell has overseen the live broadcasts of some of the world’s biggest events across broadcast and streaming. He will advise the league on live production, athlete-led storytelling, and distribution strategy.

“Basketball is one of the most popular sports in the world, and putting the best young players in the country on the same court every week makes for a great entertainment platform,” said Schell. “Beyond being an exciting sports league for basketball fans, the stories around the athletes are so compelling — young men signing their first NIL deals, chasing the top college offers and climbing NBA draft boards. We get to capture that journey as it happens.”

For brands, FBL offers something that hasn’t existed before: one place to partner with the most-followed young athletes in American sports and grow alongside the next generation of basketball stars.

“I’ve spent my whole career telling people to bet on attention and bet on themselves — and that’s exactly what these athletes are already doing,” said Gary Vaynerchuk, Chairman of VaynerX, CEO of VaynerMedia and founding team owner. “Futures gives them a league that respects that — the best competition, a national stage and brand partners who want to build with them — so they can turn their name into a business that lasts long after they stop playing.”

FBL says its founding owners “include leaders from across sports, media and entertainment.”

“I came up through the grassroots circuit in Chicago, and I saw how much talent could benefit from real structure and support,” said Derrick Rose, founding team owner. “I was lucky — my brothers built a wall around me and made sure the right people were in my corner. Most young players don’t have that. Futures gives them that kind of protection and support, off the court as much as on it.”

“Not that long ago, I was one of these players — coming out of Seattle, traveling all summer to prove myself against the best in the country,” said Paolo Banchero, founding team owner. “Now the top players finally go head-to-head every week, get paid for their value, and get the kind of development that really prepares you for the next level. I’m excited to help build the league I would have wanted to play in.”

FBL is led by President Samin Odhwani, a former NBA executive who later served as Vice President of Strategy at Thirty Five Ventures, the company founded by Durant and Rich Kleiman. He then became Chief Strategy Officer of the United Pickleball Association and Commissioner of Major League Pickleball, where he helped scale professional pickleball to a $750 million valuation with a landmark investment from Apollo Sports Capital. He is joined by Rivers, who brings decades of experience across leading sneaker brands and talent agencies, including running grassroots basketball at adidas and Reebok, where he oversaw iconic events such as the ABCD Camp, adidas Nations and Elite 24.

“Our team has been part of the American basketball system our whole lives — as players, coaches, managers and operators — and we know what it takes to develop elite talent,” said Odhwani. “We’re building a platform dedicated entirely to these players’ development, and we’re excited to bring brands and partners into a league built for the future of the sport.”

MADE Hoops, the grassroots basketball platform backed by Durant and LRMR Ventures, will serve as FBL’s operations partner, bringing deep knowledge of the youth game, longstanding relationships and a proven ability to execute at the highest level. MADE Hoops is led by founder and CEO Chad Babel, a longtime Nike executive who helped create the brand’s high school basketball strategy and a 20-plus-year veteran of the youth basketball ecosystem.

“Between NIL, international stars and today’s positionless, pace-and-space style of play, basketball has evolved dramatically in recent years, but the way we develop young players in America hasn’t kept up,” said Babel. “I’ve spent most of my life in grassroots basketball, and MADE is honored to help Futures reshape the landscape so it works better for everyone in it — starting with the athletes.”

FBL’s player development will be powered by HMBL Development, the Brooklyn-based training company founded by Justin Bright in 2014, which will serve as the league’s official training partner. HMBL has spent more than a decade developing Division I stars and professionals, and its staff of former professional players will build and run individualized development plans for every Futures athlete, headquartered at its training facility in Brooklyn and supported by a national network of elite trainers.

“For too long, the system has prioritized the next tournament over long-term development,” said Bright. “The best players in the country deserve a plan built around them — the fundamentals, the work and the habits that carry you to college and the pros. With Futures, every athlete gets that plan, and the people to execute it, all season long.”

The league is financially backed by SC Holdings, the sports and entertainment investment firm co-founded by FBL Chairman Jason Stein. Additional founding owners, player commitments, team markets, the full competition schedule, media partners and sponsors will be announced in the coming weeks.