What Role Will Jesser Have With La Famila?

YouTube content creator Jesser (X Photo)

La Familia assistant general manager Sam Malone and player Willie Cauley-Stein connected with YouTube phenom Jesser in Los Angeles while filming a video, “64 College Hoopers Compete for $10,000” that was posted to Jesser’s channel in March.

That led to Jesser, a basketball content creator with over 31 million YouTube subscribers,  announcing recently he was joining La Familia, UK’s alumni team, to play in The Basketball Tournament that offers $1 million to the winning team.

Jesser — real name Jesse Riedel — posted this on X: “It is going to be so sick, and we’re competing for a million-dollar prize. (I’m) pretty much a pro player now.”

“Sam and Willie connected with him and his team, and both came back and said it would be awesome to add him to our team,” La Familia general manager Twany Beckham said on WLAP Sunday Morning Sports Talk. “Jesser was looking to be part of a professional team. I didn’t know much about him and had to do my research, but once I saw how big reach he had I knew it would be awesome for him to be part of this.

“We got on the phone with his team, hashed out some details, and he said he would love to be a part of this and help us push our message out there and get tickets sold. It was a perfect match, and when we announced it, everything just blew up. I think we gained 5,000 (social media) followers in one day, so that shows the magnitude of his reach.”

Beckham said Jesser had played in the G League and called him a “pretty good basketball player,” but admitted he will not be the reason La Familia wins or loses games when TBT play starts for La Familia July 18 in Memorial Coliseum. Instead, the plan is for Jesser and his team to produce “behind-the-scenes content” for La Familia and TBT.

“His work is not to come in and be the reason we lose or win games. I know some people are writing comments and saying if we are relying on Jesser, we are probably not going to win games,”  Beckham said.

“If there’s an opportunity that we can get him in the game, he will get in. But if there’s not, he won’t get in.”