NBA Vet Josh Childress: Women’s Sports Attracting ‘New Pool of Capital’

Josh Childress believes a shift in marketing spending is helping accelerate investment in women’s sports. 

The Stanford small forward was drafted in 2004 by the Atlanta Hawks before going on to play for the Phoenix Suns, Brooklyn Nets, and New Orleans Pelicans, as well as for Olympiacos, a professional team in Greece. 

“The most interesting thing, and why I think this is being catalyzed right now, is you’re starting to see a shift in where marketing dollars are going,” Childress told Front Office Sports on a recent episode of Portfolio Players. 

“Traditionally, men’s sports gobbled up a large chunk of those marketing dollars,” he said. “Now, you’re seeing this shift where a lot of that marketing spend is going to women’s sports, and you’re seeing a lot more new interest in the women’s sports space.”

He added that women’s sports have opened opportunities for companies that may have been less inclined to advertise around men’s teams. 

“I would assume that a Sephora or a Skims, or some of these women-forward brands, wouldn’t have been as inclined to lean in to marketing for the Warriors,” he said. “But them having women’s sports and being able to market to those individuals has created a new kind of pool of capital that is driving a lot of this growth.”

Childress became a minority owner in the NWSL’s Portland Thorns in 2024 through the Bhathal family. He is not invested in the same family’s WNBA team (Fire) or NBA team (Kings), but said, “I wish. That’s all to come as I continue to build out my business.” 

On NBA Expansion

The NBA in late March finally made official, through a board of governors vote, what had long been rumored: It is “exploring potential expansion” to Las Vegas and Seattle. When asked whether the league really needs two more teams, Childress said, “I think yes.” 

On Seattle, he said, “I think Seattle has always been a favorite for players in my generation. … It was always a great atmosphere. There’s so much history with that team. You think back to KD, Ray Allen, GP, Shawn Kemp, Vin Baker, you can go down the list of guys who made their impact in Seattle. So them coming back to the league is a phenomenal thing.”

As for Las Vegas, he said, “Vegas is new. Vegas has come on strong with multiple teams now, you have the Raiders, and the A’s moving there, and the Aces, and Golden Knights, and F1 is there. Vegas has quickly become a hot sports market. So I am excited about that one as well because the Summer League has shown very well there over the last few years.”

Still, he said the success of either franchise will depend on its ownership. 

“If you win, if you put a good product on the floor, if you take care of your fans and do the right things, you’ll get the support you need,” he said. “That’s going to be on the ownership group to figure out.”

On Stanford NIL Fundraising

Amid the recent streak in NBA players fueling NIL fundraising for their alma mater, Childress is no exception, as he joined the school’s board of athletics last year. He has also donated money to summer school classes for basketball players, but declined to say how much. “I have donated a little on the NIL side,” he said. “I’m working on finding ways to do a bit more.”

Childress said Stanford already has the impressive alumni base needed to generate more financial support for its basketball program, but must convince those alumni to donate.

“We have it. It’s just a function of getting them educated and getting them on board with giving,” he said. “But we have a phenomenal set of alums. … I think that we will get some checkbooks open.”