The League Founder on Justin Bieber’s Viral Drum Solo, Redefining Sports Culture & More | All Access

Ron Abaekobe, The League’s cofounder and commissioner, takes Billboard All Access inside the exclusive basketball league that blends the grit of Rucker Park with the luxury of Soho House. He details how The League redefines culture by creating a hub where music, sports and fashion meet, featuring teams that represent lifestyle brands, such as Justin Bieber’s Skylark, rather than traditional franchises. The episode explores the viral moment the pop star joined the bandstand to play drums during a game, the fashion-forward pre-game tunnel walk where players dress to impress and the custom-designed court at Surgeon Studios.

Ron Abaekobe: It’s hard to explain The League or compare it to something out there because, really, what I did was just take my favorite things, whether it’s Rucker Park, Drew League, NBA, Soho House, and kind of putting all those experiences in one it’s an all-inclusive experience. And the whole goal was to take a few different industries and hospitality offerings that exist and kind of putting them all together. People love what they can’t have. I know I do. So anytime there’s a list or a line to get in, I know that drives curiosity, and that was the tone I wanted to set. Ever since season one, we’re kind of just using sport as like that common denominator to bring all the brands together that don’t typically do these type of partnerships.

But here at The League, we’re redefining what you know sport even means, right? And what sport culture is. It’s created a demand for people to find out what we’re doing here. And it’s the first league where you can do seven different things under one roof. You can actually miss a game here because there’s a bar outside, there’s food truck showcases outside, there’s VIP sections. There’s tons of stuff to do here.

Really, the bottom line is what the jerseys actually say, which is the company. That means, like personnel from that company is here. Every team in The League is a brand, and it’s a very curated approach as well. So fashion themes, hospitality groups, agriculture companies, lifestyle companies, those are the teams. Hence why we have LRG or Soho House, Justin Bieber’s new brand, SKYLARK has a team. And so The League is starting to become that machine or platform that brands get to put their names in, to be involved in, and then it taps the community because players are going to play their hearts out wearing this brand name, and I think that’s a lot more efficient and functional than an actual billboard, if you ask me, because people are going to post pictures from their favorite moments, and the players win because they’re seen, but then the brands win as well because people are posting their favorite highlights, and then they’re posting the scores to the games. And it just puts everyone in a position to be seen in a positive, cool light.

Keep watching for more!