Josh Hart Buys Into Napoli Basketball Before NBA Europe Arrives

 

New York Knicks guard Josh Hart is officially a team owner. The 31-year-old NBA champion has bought a stake in Italian club Napoli Basketball and will join its board of directors, Sportico reported Friday. Financial terms were not disclosed, but it is the largest single investment Hart has made in a private business.

Hart is investing alongside Matt Hillman, his business partner and co-host on The Roommates Show with Knicks teammate Jalen Brunson, Front Office Sports reported. Napoli owner Matt Rizzetta told FOS the pair are putting money into both the men’s and women’s Napoli teams, plus a planned new arena near the Amalfi Coast designed to meet the standards of both EuroLeague and NBA Europe.

Details Of The Deal

Napoli sits inside Rizzetta’s company, Underdog Global Partners. The men’s team plays in Italy’s top division and in the EuroCup, where it is 7-0. FOS reported the club has been approved to join EuroLeague as a wild card next season, with the right to become a permanent franchise if the arena is built within three years. Rizzetta told the outlet construction is slated to begin next year with completion by 2030, and that he is still interested in NBA Europe.

Hart is not the first big name in the building. Hall of Famer Shaquille O’Neal is already among the club’s backers, according to Eurohoops.

“I’ve always wanted to be a part owner of a franchise,” Hart told Sportico. “And now, in my 10th year in the NBA, I feel like I’ve grown my brand to where I wanted to be, and now it’s about taking the next step. For me, that next step is obviously in sports ownership.”

It is Hart’s first sports deal. Sportico reported he has previously invested in companies such as Lemon Perfect, InVintory and Dapper Labs, and has earned more than $105 million on the court, according to Spotrac. Hart said he envisions “10-plus years of greatness in Naples,” and Rizzetta told FOS, “He looks at this like a legacy project.”

Why It Matters

Most players wait until their careers are over to chase ownership, and even then they usually buy a sliver of a team worth billions, a seat at the table with little say. Hart went the other way. He got in early, in a market where his name carries weight, with a board seat and a voice in recruiting, performance and brand building, areas Sportico said he plans to advise on.

The timing is the smartest part. If European basketball is heading into a growth era, with EuroLeague expanding and the NBA eyeing a league of its own overseas, the cheapest time to own a piece of a club is before that money arrives. Hart is not buying a finished product. He is betting on what Napoli becomes once the arena opens and the bigger leagues come calling.

The Knicks waited 53 years for a title. Hart is not waiting for retirement to chase his next one.