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BA All-Star, Victoria Oladipo, and his business manager, Jay Henderson, have joined Matt Walsh and the ownership group of the New Zealand Breakers ahead of the 2021 NBL season.

Oladipo told The Associated Press he first became interested in the NBL after watching soon-to-be NBA draftee, LaMelo Ball, play for the Illawarra Hawks last season.

“I was always interested in being part of team ownership, having input with a team and helping a team be successful on the business side of things,” Oladipo said.

“To work with a team from this perspective, I’m sure I’ll have newfound respect for the guys who have been in that position.

“I definitely think this league (the NBL) is growing, I know it’s growing.

“It’s really competitive.

“I actually saw a few games when LaMelo was playing and I think it’s becoming a hot commodity,” he said.

As part of the announcement, Oladipo, at 28, is set to become one of the world’s youngest basketball franchise owners, and while he will not run any of the Breakers’ day-to-day operations, he will get an inside look at how the management team makes decisions and will reportedly visit the team in Auckland at least one time each year.

Henderson said the move was unexpected, but he is excited about the opportunity.

“We do a lot of start-ups together, we own a few companies together and now we’re going to be owners of the New Zealand Breakers,” Henderson said.

“I can’t even say I dreamed about it, I always thought what it would be like to own a franchise, but you never fully expect it to happen,” he said.