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Bill Simmons: I'm still not positive it's going to happen, but I think in the rich guy circles, a lot of them are talking about it because a lot of them have been asked to invest in it. And—five billion. They feel they need five billion for it. So, there's the number. I don't know the exact number, but I have an idea of the premise. They basically want it to be like F1—this international league. They play fewer games and go to different spots all over the world. So, they go to like Singapore, Monaco—wherever the hell it is—almost operating like F1. And they go there and stay for, I don’t know, ten days. They play multiple games in the same spot, and then they have all this other stuff that happens. There are concerts, and it’s like an event. It’s almost like a takeover, the same way F1 does it. You move from spot to spot. Maybe it’s a 30–35 game season—I don’t know.
Basketball is huge in Asia, especially in China, and decision makers in places like Singapore, Macau and beyond are eager to add new forms of entertainment to boost local tourism. This is not a Saudi-led project. “The thesis is simple: basketball is a global game, and the world wants more of it,” said Neil Meyer, global co-head of media and telecom at UBS.
The league will comprise six men’s and six women’s teams, with games played in eight cities around the world with two weeks in each city, the people said. The global rotation is modeled on a similar schedule to that of Formula 1 races. Singapore is one of the markets where games will be played.
The 34th edition of the FIBA Intercontinental Cup, scheduled for 12 to 15 September in Singapore, will include Oceania in the pack for the first time. Qualified as the winners of the 2024 NBL Finals, the Tasmania JackJumpers placed in a competitive field, including Basketball Champions League champion Unicaja.
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When the negotiations stalled further, precious time ticking ahead of the World Cup tip-off on August 25, SBP president Al Panlilo cut short a business trip to Singapore and returned to Manila to make sure a deal was struck. Last Saturday, a compromise was reached. And after two days of going back-and-forth on some minor details, Jordan affixed his signature on the contract. "It's a good day for Philippine basketball. With Jordan Clarkson on board, the SBP looks forward to a competitive showing against the best in our region," Panlilio told me shortly after officially announcing Clarkson as part of the lineup during a send-off ceremony for the team bound for China. Asked to comment on the momentous occasion. Jordan's camp told me that, "Out of respect for Mr. Al Panlilio and the SBP, Team Clarkson will wait for the formal announcement before making a statement."
Per records, the off-market buyer is Singapore-based billionaire Forrest Li. A Stanford MBA graduate, China-born Li is founder, chairman and group CEO of Singapore-based Sea, a video game and e-commerce company known for its wildly successful Free Fire title, as well as the Shopee platform. Once Singapore’s richest man, Li was one of the biggest losers in the tech market crash earlier this year, shedding nearly $18 billion off his net worth, per Bloomberg. But he’s still one of China’s wealthiest businessmen, with a newly trimmed estimated net worth of around $3 billion.
WatchBox was founded in 2017 and counts former NBA champion Michael Jordan, as well as current league stars Giannis Antetokounmpo and Chris Paul as investors, and it sells pre-owned timepieces online and in person at lounges in the US, Switzerland, Singapore, Hong Kong, the UAE and Saudi Arabia.
Ian Begley: Tom Thibodeau is asked about the starting shooting guard spot: “With Jalen, with RJ, with Julius we need shooting (at SG).” When asked about it, Thibodeau says Evan Fournier is front-runner to start at SG entering training camp.
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The National Basketball Association (NBA) is to expand its international presence to 15 markets worldwide with the opening of a new office in Singapore. The world’s preeminent basketball competition says it will use the local hub to increase its existing growth efforts in the Asia-Pacific region, which include live games, content distribution, youth development programmes, fan events and merchandise sales.
The downtown Los Angeles venue — home of the Lakers, Clippers, Kings and Sparks — will wear the new name for 20 years under a deal between the Singapore cryptocurrency exchange and AEG, the owner and operator of the arena, both parties announced Tuesday. Crypto.com paid more than $700 million for the naming rights, according to sources familiar with the terms, making it one of the biggest naming deals in sports history.
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