Wellball: Transforming Toys 'R' Us into Brooklyn's Indoor Sports Hub

For years, the old Toys “R” Us on Flatbush Avenue has just sat there—a hulking reminder of a retail era that vanished almost overnight. Soon, that empty box could turn into something very different: a playground built for grown-up jumpers and weekend warriors, led by one of Brooklyn’s own.

Stephon Marbury, the former New York Knicks point guard and Coney Island native, is teaming up with Wellball to transform the long-abandoned storefront into a sprawling indoor sports complex. The plan is ambitious. The cavernous space will be carved into courts for pickleball and other paddle sports, plus flag football and dedicated Wellball courts—a new, shooting-only twist on basketball that strips the game down to its purest impulse: putting the ball in the hoop.

If it goes ahead as envisioned, the site will become Wellball’s Brooklyn flagship. There’s no opening date on the board yet, but the stakes are clear. A building that’s gathered dust since Toys “R” Us closed its U.S. stores in 2018 could suddenly become one of southern Brooklyn’s main indoor recreation hubs, a place where the lights stay on deep into winter and the games don’t depend on the weather.

At the heart of it all is Wellball, marketed as “the pickleball of basketball.” The comparison fits. Like pickleball did to tennis, Wellball shrinks the sport down, tightens the focus and speeds up the experience.

There’s no dribbling. No defense. No full-court sprints.

Instead, players face off in head-to-head shooting duels, firing over “The Well,” a device mounted on the rim that shapes how shots are taken and keeps the action centered. Possessions are quick, rounds are short, and every rep comes down to touch, rhythm and nerve.

The simplicity is the point. By design, the rules lower the barrier to entry. With no need to break down a defender or race end to end, the game opens itself to different ages, body types and skill levels. Accuracy matters more than vertical leap. Timing and repetition matter more than top-end speed. If you can line up a shot and knock it down, you can compete.

“Everybody wants to shoot,” Marbury said in an interview with Scoop B. “Wellball, I believe will be the next… the next wave of how people are able to compete and still do something that they love to do.”

The man behind the concept is Omar Wellington, a former Division I guard at Sacred Heart University who built his post-playing career as a trainer. His client list has run from kids learning the game to NBA names like Rick and Jalen Brunson, players who make a living on shot-making and craft. Out of that training world came Wellball—a format tailored for repetition, pressure and fun, all rolled into one.

Marbury didn’t just sign on as a face for the brand. He’s captained in Wellball’s VIP league and emerged as one of its loudest advocates, lending the sport credibility with New Yorkers who watched him grow from Coney Island prodigy to two-time NBA All-Star and Knicks centerpiece.

That’s what makes the Flatbush Avenue project feel like more than just another repurposed big-box store. Marbury grew up a short train ride away, starred at Abraham Lincoln High School, then spent five seasons at Madison Square Garden from 2004 to 2009, carrying the weight of the city’s expectations. Now “Starbury” is set to return in a different role—not as the kid on the billboard, but as the local figure helping to build new courts for the next wave.

The Toys “R” Us sign is gone. The memories of toy runs and holiday crowds are fading. In their place, Brooklyn might soon get something far more in tune with the borough’s present: a space where the ball is always in the air, the games are always on, and the shot—not the store shelf—is what draws people back through the doors.