NBA free agent Gary Payton II is launching a professional skateboard league, joining a growing movement of athlete-led leagues aimed at providing year-round relevance to Olympic and action sports.

The Skate Board Association, a coed, six-team street skateboard league, plans to hold its inaugural 10-game season next summer in Big Bear Lake, California. Payton II, who last played for the Golden State Warriors , told ESPN he founded the league with partners Royce Campbell and Sheldon Lewis, because of his childhood love for skateboarding.

"Growing up, I always wanted to be a skateboarder. The skate park was right next to the basketball court," he said. "I'd skate there with my friends and they'd skate the park and I'd hoop."

When his partners proposed the league, "I was like, 'Why hasn

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