Lebron James, a young billionaire, says it is clear that he wants to be recognized as much more than a basketball player. Both as an actor in "Space Jam 2," and a more-celebrated role with Amy Schumer in "Trainwreck"
James has now splintered a career as a producer, most notably with his "The Shop," a HBO series aimed at reimagining the conversations in a barbershop. The athlete, who is arguably the second best basketball player of all time, now has his sites set on something he has only achieved as an ex-player.
James, who is still playing in the league for at least a few years, is keen to own a National Basketball Association (NBA) team. He does not have his sites on the Lakers, or his previous teams, the Miami Heat, or the Cleveland Cavaliers.
He wants to be the guy who brings the NBA to someplace it has never gone.
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The NBA Has Its Eyes on Las Vegas
When a federal law allowing states to decide for themselves whether to include sports betting, the idea of having an NBA team or really a professional sports league in Las Vegas was a challenge until a few years ago. Eventually, more states expanded gambling, making Las Vegas no longer off-limits to professional sports.
The Las Vegas Golden Knights expansion team has joined the National Hockey League (NHL) and the Oakland Raiders of the National Football League (NFL).
Sin City has been subjected to a tumultuous NBA rumors, with multiple NBA-ready arena projects being completed on and adjacent to the famous Las Vegas Strip. No team has actually reached an agreement with any existing or potential Las Vegas venue (at least publicly) but the city remains a choice for any team seeking to move or expand.
This is something NBA Commissioner Adam Silver has considered as a possibility (at least for now)
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Silver said in a press conference that at this time, we are not talking about that. At some point, this league will invariably expand, just not at this time."
Lebron James Wants to Own a Las Vegas NBA Team
In a preview for a upcoming episode of "The Shop," Jame expressed his desire to own a potential Las Vegas team.
"I wanna own a team....Yeah, I wanna buy a team for sure. I would much rather own a team before I talk. I wanna own a team in Vegas. I want the team in Vegas," James said in the video.
Even assuming James'' fortune is worthless, purchasing a team on his own might be unreal. It''s possible that $1 billion will not go as far as it used to.
"The average NBA team is worth $2.58 billion," according to Sportico.
Given the fact that franchise values have increased throughout all major sports, an expansion team would likely cost at least that much if not more.
According to The Spun, Silverhas said Las Vegas will someday be envisioned as a team for expansion.
At the point that we do focus on expansion, it''s on a list, which isn''t right now, but at some point, there is no doubt Vegas will be on the list, according to the narrator.
James'' path to ownership would likely be as a part of a group in the same manner Alex Rodriguez, a former Major League Baseball player, is taking over as part-owner of the Minnesota Timberwolves in partnership with former Jet.com executive Marc Lore.
