Ja Morant is officially going global.
The Memphis Grizzlies star point guard Morant announced this week through Catch12, Inc., the media and investment company founded by the Morant family, a new investment into the United States-based company EuroStep Ventures. EuroStep Ventures is the parent company of France professional basketball club Levallois Metropolitans, and the investment is intended to tap into the French basketball market.
“Basketball in Paris is capturing worldwide attention,” Catch12 COO Berry Winn was quoted as saying in the official release. “This partnership allows us to take part in something that is shaping the future of both the men’s and women’s game on an international scale. Our team brings athlete perspective, media and broadcast technology, and a cultural lens that will help expand EuroStep’s vision.”
You can read the release in full at the link here.
Also known as Metropolitans 92, Levallois Metropolitans is the club that San Antonio Spurs star big man Victor Wembanyama used to play for professionally before coming to the NBA. They were founded in 2007 and have won two titles in their history up to this point (one French Federation Cup and once French Supercup). Metropolitans did notably go bankrupt last year but moved down to the third division of French professional basketball as a result and are now back on the upswing.
As for Morant, the 26-year-old former All-Star, he is having a down year this season for the 13-14 Grizzlies, Morant is averaging a career-low 17.7 points per game and has been limited to 14 games played overall because of various injuries. But he is at least making some proactive moves off the court right now, which line up with a few of the major changes that Morant has made in recent months.
