Basketball fans know the National Basketball Players Association (NBPA) as a players union and occasional league office foe that represents the players in collective bargaining negotiations. But this week, the union launched a new brand it hopes will connect players directly with companies and fans.PLYRS UNTD, which debuted publicly on Monday, is the union’s effort to collectivize the name, image and likeness rights of its players. David Kelly, the NBPA’s incoming executive director, said PLYRS UNTD will be the new banner that players use as they intend to move into apparel, experiences and more. Through PLYRS UNTD, they hope to be able to build a brand that can become recognizable enough to stand on its own and create a new revenue stream for NBA players.The NBPA’s ambitions for PLYRS UNTD are high. Its players launched the new brand hoping that they can use their NIL rights in new ways. They are eying a lifestyle brand — with collections and apparel — that it can sell straight to fans.The union will also open a new training facility in Los Angeles in August and wants to use that new building — which used to serve as the LA Clippers practice center — not just as a space where players can work out but also as a content creation hub in ways they could not at their teams’ facilities.If it is successful, PLYRS UNTD would offer a new commercial pathway for the union, one it hadn’t utilized before. PLYRS UNTD replaces Think450, which had been the union’s prior commercial vehicle and controlled its group licensing rights. They sold those so that NBA players could appear in video games like NBA2k and on trading cards.