Russell Westbrook retired on August 12. Twenty-one days later he owns a piece of a basketball league that has never played a game.

Project B announced Wednesday that Westbrook has joined as a co-founder and chief strategy officer. He holds an ownership stake, sits on the board of directors, and will set basketball direction and long-term plans, with responsibilities extending to partnerships that may run through Russell Westbrook Enterprises, the operating and investment company he founded.

The league was started in 2023 by Grady Burnett, a former Facebook and Google executive, and Geoffrey Prentice, a Skype co-founder. It runs as an F1-style touring circuit of seven tournaments across Europe, Asia and Latin America, with games streamed free on YouTube. Each city hosts a 10-day event that crowns a local champion and feeds a season-long championship race. The women's competition opens first with 6 teams of 11 players.

Every player who signs receives equity in the league on top of salary. Reported salaries start at $2 million per year, with multiyear deals reaching eight figures. The WNBA average sits at roughly $102,249. That gap is the entire recruiting pitch, and the equity is what makes it more than a paycheck.

15 women have committed so far, including Nneka Ogwumike, Alyssa Thomas, Jonquel Jones, Jewell Loyd and Kelsey Mitchell. Alana Beard, a co-founder, is chief basketball officer. Former Hawks general manager Landry Fields runs men's basketball and Igor Kokoškov leads player development. Maverick Carter advises the league. Candace Parker, Lauren Jackson, Steve Young, Novak Djokovic and Sloane Stephens are investors.

"We're reimagining the experience with players not only as key value drivers, but also as shareholders and decision makers," Westbrook said.

Project B now has a 9-time All-Star on its cap table before it has played a minute of basketball. The men's player announcements are due later this year, and those names will further show whether the equity model actually pulls talent or just headlines.

Harrison Barnes wrote a $25 million check for a bank in a town of 221 people.

The deal closed through Barnes Bancorp, Inc., a company he chiefly owns, and it gives him control of Community State Bank in Paton, Iowa. He is still on the San Antonio Spurs roster.

The bank has $42.8 million in total assets and $35.1 million in deposits from a single office. It opened in February 1956 and lends primarily to farmers in Greene County. Paton sits about 40 minutes from Ames, where Barnes grew up.

He put in years of preparation before the money moved. Barnes served on 2 bank boards over the last decade, completed year 1 of the Iowa School of Banking program in June 2025, and visited the Chicago Fed that September. He told the ABA Banking Journal his interest started when he watched community banks move PPP loans during Covid, and he called them economic first responders.

Community State Bank keeps its name, its staff, and its management team, CEO Craig Marquardt confirmed after the purchase. Barnes introduced a new board and hired Iowa banking professionals to run the expansion with him. "We want to be Iowa's next great bank," he said.

The timing is his best play: Barnes signed a 1-year, $8 million deal with the Spurs in June and enters his 15th season this fall, with $224.1 million in career earnings behind him. The bank will still be there when the playing career ends, and Barnes will still own it.

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