NBPA & PLYRS UNTD Open Players-Only-Performance Center In Los Angeles

The Space

‍PLYRS UNTD, the NBPA's commercial brand, has opened a year-round performance center in a former Clippers practice facility in Playa Vista. 42,500 square feet. Two NBA-spec courts. Full athletic training room, weight room, indoor and outdoor turf. Recovery wing with sauna, steam room, massage room, and meditation pod. The union is leasing the building with an option to buy, and Exec Director David Kelly expects to exercise that option after evaluating the first few months of operations.

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Why It Matters

‍This isn't a gym. It's the union building infrastructure that used to live exclusively inside team walls — and putting it in players' hands instead. "We are here to negotiate and enforce the CBA. We also are here to provide services to our members," Kelly said. Five full-time NBPA staff and 15-20 outside vendors and interns will run it day to day.

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The Numbers Behind the Location

‍The NBPA studied where players actually spend their offseasons before picking a site. Roughly 200 active NBA players were in the L.A. market last summer — combined with the Lakers and Clippers being based there in-season, that made L.A. and New York the only markets that cleared the bar for a full-time union-run center.

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Built By Players, For Players

‍Over 60 players gave direct input on the build-out, including Chet Holmgren, Kyrie Irving, Chris Paul, and NBPA President Fred VanVleet. Before renovations even started, the union tested the concept during All-Star Weekend, putting up a board and asking players to write down what they needed. The target was 100 players using the facility by the end of August — with roughly 80 coming through in just the first two weeks of soft launch, Kelly now expects that number to land well above projection.

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What's Next

‍PLYRS UNTD will run twice-weekly NBA-only sessions during peak offseason, with around 25 players expected at some runs — All-Stars to rotation guys, same gym. Long-term, the union sees room to expand into youth programming and life-skills camps. Whether the model spreads beyond L.A. and New York depends on how this first year performs.