Tracy McGrady has been a superstar on and off the court for years, with successful business ventures in real estate, tech and other industries. But his latest is one he says is a true passion point for him.
According to a recent report by CNBC, McGrady is investing millions in his own enterprise, Ones Basketball League, or OBL, which’ll be making its New York premiere this coming weekend.
“I’ve always invested in other people’s ideas and other people’s vision,” McGrady told CNBC. “Not once did I ever trust mine. I didn’t have the confidence to think mine was good enough. I didn’t trust my ideas or decision-making when it came to my vision. “This is the first time I actually trusted and believed that I can pull this off.”
According to the outlet, McGrady funded just under $10 million for the company, including the $250,000 prize OBL champion. This comes by way of a partnership with longtime sports executive and former XFL president Jeff Pollack to support operations.
“We’re going to have an opportunity to grow this business and do it in a way where the economics, in the beginning, are pretty favorable,” Pollack said to CNBC.
McGrady is heavily targeting the Gen Z audience and hopes to broadcast the league’s games on major networks.
“No disrespect to what these other things ESPN is putting on their programming – this is more entertaining,” McGrady shared with CNBC.