Celtics star Jayson Tatum joins ownership group of a professional pickleball team
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Dinks can now be added to dunks on Jayson Tatum’s résumé.
With the Celtics battling for survival in the NBA playoffs Thursday night, their star forward was introduced Thursday morning as a new part-owner of a Major League Pickleball team, the Los Angeles Mad Drops.
Tatum joins a growing, eclectic list of celebrities and athletes sinking their wealth into the professional realm of the latest national pastime, pickleball, the tennis- and badminton-like racquet sport that includes a soft-touch “dink” shot among its repertoire of tactics.
Major League Pickleball is the team-oriented league of the three professional tours, and it has blossomed from an eight-team, one-event league in 2021 to a 24-team, six-event circuit this year.
Joining Tatum on the Mad Drops ownership roster is Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen and Haley Jones, picked No. 6 by the Atlanta Dream in last month’s WNBA draft.
Among the other new owners announced Thursday were world chess champion Magnus Carlsen (AZ Drive), the Chicago Bulls’ Zach LaVine (Miami Pickleball Club), and the Dude Perfect social media group that has more than 100 million followers (the still-unnamed Frisco, Texas, franchise).
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A partial list of previously invested MLP owners includes: Tom Brady, LeBron James, Patrick Mahomes, Drew Brees, Heidi Klum, Kevin Durant, Mark Cuban, Brené Brown, Rich Paul, Naomi Osaka, Chris Evert, Draymond Green, Justin Verlander, and Kate Upton.
Each MLP team features a coed quartet playing in a league with promotion and relegation rules. Its next event is in San Clemente, Calif., next month.
The other two professional leagues, the Professional Pickleball Association and the Association of Pickleball Professionals, compete in a singles and doubles format similar to a pro tennis tournament. PPA and MLP announced a strategic merger last November in which PPA will exist under the MLP brand.
Pickleball has been the fastest-growing sport in the United States the past three years, according to the Sports & Fitness Industry Association, with 8.9 million participants last year, up from 4.8 million the year before.
Viewed initially as a fad among the AARP cohort, pickleball is making inroads among younger players. In last year’s SFIA report, players under the age of 24 had the fastest growth rate, 21 percent, year over year, in 2021.
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In Thursday’s press release, MLP founder Steve Kuhn singled out the entry of young, well-known owners.
“It is thrilling to add this collection of influential athletes and entertainers to Major League Pickleball’s team ownership groups,” he said. “Their ability to reach young fans will be a key component in helping MLP and the sport of pickleball continue on our current rapid growth track.”