Landry Fields: Project B Has Players Signed — And the Men’s Stars Are Coming

Former NBA player and Atlanta Hawks GM Landry Fields joins Ric Bucher for a special edition of On The Ball to pull back the curtain on Project B, the ambitious new global basketball league aiming to rethink how professional basketball is played, presented and consumed.

Fields, now Project B’s head of men’s basketball, confirms that players are already signed, says recognizable names are coming to the men’s side and reveals that announcements should begin rolling out soon. He explains why Project B believes it can lure elite talent with player equity, fewer games and back-to-backs, competitive compensation, greater career longevity and opportunities to build truly global brands.

Fields also lays out Project B’s unusual F1-style global model, integrating men and women on the same platform while taking events to cities and countries around the world. He discusses the worldwide search for talent, why the women are currently leading Project B’s development, and what he learned about leadership, culture and decision-making from stops with the San Antonio Spurs, Atlanta Hawks and Overtime Elite.

Fields also gets candid about his Hawks tenure and the lesson he carries forward: when you’re the decision-maker, set the vision, own the vision and build toward it.

And, yes, Ric also uncovers one of the more unexpected chapters of Fields’ résumé: the former Knick once impersonated Nicki Minaj, Pitbull and Lionel Richie on national television.

TIMESTAMPS

00:00 – Landry Fields joins On The Ball

00:49 – Nicki Minaj or launching a global basketball league: which is harder?

03:00 – How Fields unexpectedly became a TV singing competitor

04:21 – Why Project B appealed to Fields

05:50 – The F1-style vision for a global basketball league

07:37 – Igor Kokoškov and Project B’s player-development plan