LOS ANGELES -- When the basketball world converged on Los Angeles for NBA All-Star Weekend in February, Stephen Curry, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Kyrie Irving were among a group of 35 players who participated in a brainstorming session about the possibility of opening a players-only training facility in the city.
For years, hundreds of NBA players have trained in Los Angeles during the offseason. While the Southern California sunshine and lifestyle were appealing, players were forced to crisscross the city and its sprawling suburbs in search of available court time and weight training facilities to prepare for the upcoming season.
The players, who were accustomed to using all-in-one training centers during the season, concluded that a centralized hub in Los Angeles could foster higher-level scrimmages and reduce some of the logistical headaches.
"Nothing is harder than getting NBA players all on the same schedule, especially if there's different places involved," Oklahoma City Thunder big man Chet Holmgren said. "It just becomes a mess. The last couple years I've been out here [in Los Angeles], it's hard to get in some summer runs. I would go work out on a court in one place, then go to another place to do weights, and then go to another place for recovery. It's all just wasted time you can't get back."
After prompting from its members, who compiled suggestions on sticky notes and a whiteboard during the All-Star Weekend meetings, the National Basketball Players Association opened the PLYRS UNTD Performance Center in Playa Vista this week. The $50 million facility, which covers 42,500 square feet, was previously used as a practice facility by the LA Clippers, who moved their operations to the Intuit Dome in Inglewood in 2024.
Houston Rockets guard Fred VanVleet, the NBPA's president, led the decision to invest in the facility, which is located about four miles north of Los Angeles International Airport on the city's westside. Chris Paul, Andre Iguodala and Shaun Livingston were among the former players who provided feedback on the plans.
NBPA executive director David Kelly said Monday that the union signed a three-year lease to operate the facility. The Sterling family, which sold the Clippers to former Microsoft executive Steve Ballmer in 2014, owns the building; the union can sign a five-year extension or buy the facility outright once the initial lease expires.
"This was the will of the guys," Kelly said. "Let's build something and invest in something that's going to last for the next 20 years. We're doing things that are player-first."
The NBPA, which has a practice court at its Midtown Manhattan headquarters and runs an offseason training hub in Andalusia, Spain, has already welcomed 80 players to the new Los Angeles facility this summer. Anthony Davis, Tyrese Maxey and Trey Murphy III were in the building Monday to take advantage of two full-sized basketball courts and a range of other amenities.
Most of the players' original sticky note suggestions were put in place by the time the facility opened: There's a full weight room, a training room, conference rooms and an expansive dining area. Health and nutrition were top priorities for the players, so the facility offers organic and vegan-friendly meals, protein smoothies, biomarker blood testing, a meditation pod, a sauna and a steam room. Players can schedule massage therapy appointments and seek input from a chef and a dietician.
The NBPA refreshed many aspects of the building, including repainting the courts with its "PLYRS UNTD" branding and its "Own The Game" slogan. The corner office that once belonged to Clippers president of basketball operations Lawrence Frank has been converted into a family lounge, while the old media workroom has been transformed into "The Garage," an indoor-outdoor auxiliary workout facility with turf.
All NBPA members are free to use the gated performance center, which is staffed by on-site security.
"The facility is amazing," Holmgren said. "You have everything you need in one place: turf, court, weights, recovery, and they even have a f---ing barber chair in there. It's a great conduit for getting better."
Matteo Zuretti, the NBPA's chief player experience officer, said the wish list for the next round of improvements includes a hyperbaric chamber and a podcast studio.
"This is a one-stop shop," Zurreti said. "Los Angeles is so fragmented. The players can walk inside the gate, do everything in 90 minutes or two hours, and they're out and done. They can go back to enjoying their offseasons and families."
Kelly hopes the training center will foster "camaraderie" among union members in advance of the next round of collective bargaining agreement negotiations with the NBA.
During a news conference in Las Vegas last month, union leaders criticized the NBA's second apron salary cap system, which severely punishes the league's highest-spending teams. The past three champions -- the New York Knicks, Thunder and Boston Celtics -- all made cost-cutting moves this offseason that were influenced by the second apron.
"As we go into negotiations around the second apron, we have to have a unified membership," Kelly said. "We have to have guys that believe in the NBPA. More importantly, we need guys connected to one another, and places where they can talk to one another, separate and apart from their teams. We created an environment here for the guys to come together."