CNN
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Yes, I read the headline correctly.
NBA superstar LeBron James is once again expanding his sports portfolio. we’ Your new favorite pastime.
James is part of a consortium to purchase major league expansion franchises. pickle ball (MLP) as the competition grows from 12 to 16 teams.
The consortium includes fellow NBA players Draymond Green and Kevin Love, as well as James’ lifelong friend and business partner Maverick Carter.
MLP founder Steve Kuhn called the investment from three basketball stars with nine-time NBA championships a “pickleball watershed moment.”
“Pickleball is the fastest growing sport in the country, building communities in cities and towns around the world,” Kuhn said. Said“This investment and the platform provided by this group will greatly contribute to our goal of reaching 40 million pickleball players by 2030.”
In addition to this new ownership group, MLP announces further investments in a list that includes Super Bowl champion Drew Brees, Milwaukee Bucks co-owner Mark Lasley and former World No. 4 tennis player James Blake I want to
Over one million Americans have paddled in the last two years, dubbed America’s unofficial pandemic pastime.
But what sport has taken the nation by storm?
The basic objective of pickleball, as in other racquet sports, is to hit the ball over the net and prevent the opponent from hitting it back.
It can be played in singles or doubles, inside or outside, on a 20′ x 44′ court (approximately the size of a badminton court), with a 2-point cushion that lasts until one side reaches 11 points.
Pickleball got its tragic start in 1965 when future U.S. Congressman Joel Pritchard and his friend Bill Bell tried to entertain bored kids while on vacation.
Stay at a property on Bainbridge Island, Washington with an asphalted badminton court, gather available equipment such as a wiffle ball, ping pong table, badminton net, and later 36 inches (tennis height) brought closer. At the net, if you find that the ball bounces well on the asphalt.
As the holidays progressed, they enlisted the help of another friend, Bernie McCallum, to begin crafting the rules of the game.
The ping pong paddles were decided to be too small and were replaced with large self-made plywood paddles, and a no-volley zone was created 7 feet from the net to discourage smashing.
The non-volley zone, or “kitchen,” is what gives pickleball so much of its character.
Minimizing running allows older players to be just as competitive as younger, healthier players, reducing the role of power and allowing children to play alongside adults.
Pickleball’s popularity skyrocketed in North America. This was partly driven by the Covid-19 pandemic to provide safe and socially distanced exercise.
It originally found a solid base among the retirement community, beloved for its sociable side, moderate exercise, and just plain fun.
But between 2018 and 2021, USA pickleball membership nearly doubled, with the organization estimating that 4.8 million Americans now play the sport.
Much of this expansion centers outside of pickleball’s traditional demographic. The biggest increase was in his under-24 players from 2020 to his 2021. This is due to the height of the lockdown when his portable pickleball net was temporarily sold out as people set up small courts in their driveways and yards. .
