NBA

LeBron James maintains his desire to own an NBA franchise from Las Vegas, Nevada

Antonio Kozlow profile picture
Sports Editor
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As far as we know, LeBron James’ mentality is set on keep breaking records for as long as he can as a professional basketball player, but being 38-years of age, he can’t help but already start to think about life beyond the court. What’s for sure is he’ll stick to business around the NBA for a long time, as he’s mentioned in the past he would like to own an NBA franchise.

The Lakers superstar has reaffirmed for a second time now that he wishes own an NBA team from Las Vegas, as he considers it to be an ideal place to grow in sport activities.

The first occasion was back in June, when the athlete said he wanted to own an NBA team in the Nevada city in an episode of his show, “The Shop.”

The second time came during last year’s pre-season, as the Los Angeles squad played a friendly match against the Phoenix Suns in Las Vegas. “It’s the best fan base in the world,” he said with an intriguing smile on his face. “I would love to bring a team here at some point, that would be amazing.”

Afterwards, LeBron kept at it, only this time he made a direct plea to NBA Commissioner Adam Silver.

“I know Adam is in Abu Dhabi right now, but he probably sees every single interview and transcript that comes through from an NBA player,” he said. “So I want the team here, Adam. Thank you.”

Watch the full comment on the matter, as the Lakers foward was questioned in press conference:

During last campaign, James assured it was one of his biggest objectives to own a franchise “sooner rather than later”, as he is already a billionaire. However, LeBron isn’t just stacked with money, he’s also an associate at the holding company that owns Premier League soccer club Liverpool FC and the MLB’s Boston Red Sox, the Fenway Sports Group.

As the NHL recently expanded to add franchises in Las Vegas and Seattle, it now seems more possible that the NBA could follow their steps. Not just has Adam Silver called them both “wonderful markets”, but Fenway keeps adding American Football teams, as the Pittsburgh Penguins are their latest inclusion to their portofolio. The planets are starting to aling…

What are the true possibilities of this actually coming through?

Although it makes perfect sense, unfortunately for James it still seems far away. As reports suggest that the NBA is currently renegotiating their television rights for 2024, they made this their priority before looking at adding new franchises. ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski said that “the possibilities of Las Vegas and Seattle as expansion candidates are real, but likely years away.”

Not too long ago, an ESPN panel led by Stephen A. Smith discussed the possibilities. Watch their reactions in the video below:

The only former player who has ever owned an NBA team is none other than Michael Jordan, who bought the franchise of the Charlotte Hornets back in 2010. The only other example we have is Shaquille O’Neal, who only held a stake in the Sacramento Kings for some years, but recently sold his shares.

Antonio is a life long sports enthusiast and professional journalist, who shares an obssesive urge to find and dig up the most interesting facts to guide gamblers towards more exciting, yet safe bets. In his own words, ''you can never really know enough about the things you love''.

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