Project B Announces Hangzhou, China as First Stop of Inaugural Global Basketball Festival

Russell Westbrook, Alana Beard, and Chinese Basketball Star Li Meng Announce Hangzhou as Host City of Global Grand Prix Featuring Basketball, Entertainment, and Culture

Project B and Hangzhou Partner to Build Future of Sport and Entertainment

World’s Top Women Basketball Players Will Compete and Connect with Fans in Hangzhou from January 19-24, 2027

HANGZHOU, China--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Project B today announced that Hangzhou will host the first competition stop of its inaugural global basketball grand prix from January 19–24, 2027, at Hangzhou Olympic Sports AT Center Gymnasium, bringing the world’s top women’s basketball players to Mainland China for an elite-level tournament, entertainment, and cultural experience.

The announcement was made from Hangzhou’s legendary West Lake by Project B Co-Founder and Chief Strategy Officer Russell Westbrook and Chinese basketball star and Project B player Li Meng, alongside Co-Founder and Chief Basketball Officer Alana Beard.

“China has always had incredible energy around basketball, and I’ve experienced that personally throughout my career,” said Westbrook. “Project B is connecting basketball with culture in each place we play. I have deep respect for the history and tradition here, and also the constant drive to create what comes next. This combination is powerful.”

Project B’s partnership with Hangzhou is grounded in a shared vision to bring the joy of sport and live entertainment to fans everywhere. For centuries, Hangzhou has been celebrated for its natural beauty, poetry, art and culture. Today, the city is recognized for technology, entrepreneurship, design, and innovation. It is a place where past and future sit side by side, making Hangzhou a natural setting to introduce a new global path for basketball.

For Chinese Project B player Li Meng, bringing Project B to China for its first competition is an opportunity to introduce her home country to teammates and players from around the world.

“Basketball has an incredible community in China, and I’m proud that the first stop for Project B will be here,” said Li Meng. “I want the players coming from around the world to experience China beyond the basketball court. Hangzhou is a beautiful city with such a unique mix of history, nature, culture and innovation. I’m excited for our fans here to experience Project B, and for my teammates to experience Hangzhou.”

Project B will begin its inaugural season in January 2027, bringing the world’s best women’s basketball and premium entertainment to China, while showcasing China’s distinctive culture and creativity to audiences worldwide. Project B is committed to building a deep and lasting presence in China, forging strong, long-term partnerships with Chinese companies, and connecting with 150M basketball passionate fans in a new chapter for global basketball.

“From a basketball perspective, we wanted our first stop to set the standard,” said Alana Beard, Co-Founder and Chief Basketball Officer of Project B. “We’re bringing the best players in the world together to compete at the highest level, and we’re also creating an environment where they can experience new cultures and build real connections with fans. Starting in Hangzhou gives us an incredible stage for both.”

Ahead of arriving in Hangzhou, Project B’s players, coaches and basketball leadership will gather in Seoul from January 6–12, 2027, for the platform’s first draft and training camp. The season will then begin in Hangzhou from January 19–24, marking the first chapter of Project B’s new global basketball festival.

Additional details about the Hangzhou competition will be announced in the coming weeks.

ABOUT PROJECT B

Project B is creating a sports and entertainment platform built for the next generation of players and fans. Owned by athletes, Project B brings together the world’s best women and men to compete across iconic destinations in Asia, Europe, and the Americas. Designed for a streaming-first, social-native world and distributed globally, Project B combines elite competition, culture, and premium live experiences.

ABOUT RUSSELL WESTBROOK

Russell Westbrook is Founder and CEO of Russell Westbrook Enterprises, a privately held operating and investment group spanning technology, media, consumer, healthcare, sports and real estate. His portfolio includes Honor the Gift, RW Digital, Eazewell and a major Oklahoma City sports and entertainment development. He is also Co-Founder and Chief Strategy Officer of Project B, where he serves on the board.

At the center of Westbrook’s work is the Russell Westbrook Why Not? Foundation, which he founded in 2012 to expand educational, career and wellness opportunities in underserved communities. Its work includes Westbrook Academy, a public middle and high school serving South Los Angeles, alongside workforce, mental-health and youth programs. Westbrook also co-chairs the Los Angeles Cleantech Incubator’s Road to 2028, connecting clean-energy investment with jobs and opportunity in Los Angeles.

An NBA MVP and Olympic gold medalist, Westbrook concluded an 18-season NBA career as a nine-time All-Star, a member of the NBA’s 75th Anniversary Team and the league’s all-time leader in triple-doubles.

ABOUT ALANA BEARD

Alana Beard is Co-Founder and Chief Basketball Officer of Project B, where she leads basketball strategy. Since retiring from basketball in 2020, she has built a career in business and investing, from working in venture capital in Silicon Valley to serving on the board of a publicly traded technology company.

A Women’s Basketball Hall of Famer and WNBA champion, Beard concluded a 15-year WNBA career with the Washington Mystics and Los Angeles Sparks as a two-time Defensive Player of the Year, four-time All-Star and nine-time All-Defensive Team selection, and also won league titles in Israel, Poland and Spain. Before entering the WNBA as the No. 2 overall pick in 2004, she was National Player of the Year at Duke University, where she became the first women’s basketball player to have her jersey retired.

Beard’s work off the court is rooted in her hometown of Shreveport, Louisiana, where she founded the 318 Foundation, named for the city’s area code, to close the opportunity gap for girls in historically underserved communities through sports, mentorship, and leadership development.