Key Takeaways
- Knicks guard Josh Hart bought a minority stake in Napoli Basketball, covering the Italian club’s men’s and women’s teams and expansion plans.
- Hart will join Napoli’s board and work with Roommates podcast co-host Matt Hillman on the club’s growth.
- Hart called Napoli “a great underdog story,” citing its passionate fans and EuroCup excitement as the club establishes plans for a new arena.
Josh Hart has gone overseas with ownership in Napoli Basketball.
The team has announced that the New York Knicks guard now holds a minority stake that covers the Italian club's men's and women's teams and plans for expansion. The shooting guard will also take a strategic seat on Napoli's board, where he and Roommates podcast co-host Matt Hillman will assist in growing the club commercially, competitively and socially.
"Napoli is a great underdog story and reminds me of what we have built with the Knicks in many ways," said Josh Hart. "It is a project built around hard work, big dreams and the incredible passion Napoli fans have for their team.
“I've been coming to Naples and the Amalfi Coast for years, and I know what a fanbase like this can mean to a team,” he continued. “Seeing this club already making noise in the EuroCup tells you where it's headed."
Hart, 31, has entered his tenth NBA season following his part in the Knicks taking home their first championship in 53 years.
Napoli consists of two teams, a women’s basketball team that plays in Serie 2, a second division of women’s Italian basketball; and a men’s team that competes in Serie A, organized by EuroLeague, and that participates in cross-continental competition EuroCup. In September, the league submitted a proposal to build a new advanced arena.
"Josh represents Napoli and the tens of millions of proud Neapolitans across the world," said Matt Rizzetta, President of Napoli Basketball and Founder of Underdog Global Partners. "His dedication, humility and perseverance are what the Napoli venture is all about. He has the heart of a champion just like our Napoli fans do, and I am certain this is the beginning of a beautiful love story between Josh and our fans."
