Super League Basketball interim chair and majority owner of the Sheffield Sharks Vaughn Millette on his baptism of fire, challenging the rest of Europe and the demise of 777 and the London Lions.
The last few months have, Vaughn Millette admits, been “a wild ride”.
Until mid-July, the American was merely an interested spectator of British basketball. But since then he has bought a majority share in Sheffield Sharks, seen the domestic league and its biggest team, London Lions, collapse, and then played a key role in attracting new investment and building a club-led phoenix competition, Super League Basketball, from scratch.
“It’s been just chaos, but good chaos,” SLB interim chair Millette tells City A.M. “I’m excited about some actual basketball, and I think the level will be pretty high this year. It’s been an 80-hour-a-week job that I didn’t know I was signing up for. It’s been like nothing else but, you know, we got it all done and it’s really come out quite well, I think.”
When Super League Basketball tips off for the first time this week, it will have a global broadcast partner in Dazn, a kit contract with Reebok and, Millette says, other commercial deals in the pipeline. It is no mean feat given that the British Basketball League’s demise was swift and proved fatal for some clubs.
Despite seeing storm clouds on the horizon, the former banker and energy investor turned entertainment mogul took a punt on the British game based on its existing popularity and growth potential. Others have followed, at Cheshire and London Lions, and New York-based Millette, 47, is bullish about the future.
“I saw a league that I thought should be better, if it’s being honest, and I found a team where I really love the people. Then I got into the books of the league and got a little hesitant, and then just decided I was going to go for it and see where it all shook out,” he says.
“I think it should be able to get to the same level as the other European leagues. We’ve got a vision to steadily grow it. I think we’ve got a financial roadmap for that to happen, we’ve got quality owners who have the pockets, the desire and commitment.”
Super League Basketball’s approach was “make sure all clubs are owned by people who can afford to own them and invest in the business – clubs, academies, development, the league. And then let’s build a sustainable model, both from a league and club standpoint, that everyone can grow together,” Millette says.
That – and a stripped-back London Lions, who were previously outspending all rivals to the point of dissuading investment – will mean “a higher level on the court this year than last”.
He adds: “Getting everyone into a similar salary band, and then growing that band every year, is important. Everyone’s spending almost double what they spent last year. And we need to keep upping that level and keep creating a better in-game experience. We earn the right to have that fan enjoy our league. It’s on us to keep working at that every day.”
British basketball followers may have raised an eyebrow when Millette emerged as the figurehead of Super League Basketball so soon after Miami-based 777 Partners ran the BBL and London Lions into the ground. He concedes he has no sports experience beyond being an obsessive fan but believes his business background made him a good fit.
“I’ve grown a lot of high-growth companies really quickly, so I was particularly well suited for a summer of having to stand up a new company in eight, nine weeks,” he says. “I’ve done that before, so I’m used to solving 100 problems a day. It’s been my life.”
Millette, who will stand down from his league role when an independent successor is hired, insists all decisions are made by committee and that clubs can be run as owners see fit but defended London Lions’ new Lithuanian proprietors after they controversially retained former 777 Partners vice-president Lenz Balan to run the capital club.
“I wasn’t around for the whole 777 thing but Lenz called me the second day I got here and told me that he had to save London. And I honestly told him: ‘Just lose my number. We don’t want anything to do with the Lions,’” Millette says.
“And he kept calling, and he found the Zalgiris Group. And as I got to know Dainius [Liulys, CEO], I really liked them. And anything we needed to get this deal done, Lenz did it. He quit his job at 777 immediately and worked his ass off to make this happen.”
The Lions have lost their right to exclusivity in London, however, so may face local rivals if Super League Basketball expands from nine teams, as it hopes. After months of turmoil, however, that can wait for now.