LeBron Jameswhose net worth was recently assessed to be north of $1 billion by Forbes, has made it known for years that he plans to own an NBA team when he finishes playing.
Now this vision has a site.
“I want a team in Vegas,” James said in a clip from the final episode of his talk show “The Store,” which begins Friday. “I want the team in Vegas.”
James, part-owner of the Liverpool and Boston Red Sox, said last season that his “goal is to own the NBA franchise,” adding, “It will be sooner rather than later.”
James, 37, will enter his 20th NBA season in the fall when the Los Angeles Lakers training camp opens. He must finish playing before he can buy a team, and he’ll have to figure out a proprietary suite to help with the bid – the newest NBA team to come to market, the Minnesota Timberwolves, brought in $1.5 billion in 2021.
James will also need the league to expand to Las Vegas. During his annual NBA Finals press conference last week, NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said there are no current plans to expand beyond the 30 league teams.
“We’re not discussing that at the moment,” Silver said. “As I said before, at some point this league is going to expand steadily, but not at the moment we are discussing that.”
However, when asked specifically about Seattle and Las Vegas as potential expansion sites, Silver endorsed both locations.
“These are great markets,” Silver said. “We were in Seattle. I’m sorry we’re not there anymore. We have a WNBA team in Seattle in an almost brand new building that is doing an amazing performance. And Las Vegas, where we’ll be in the summer league in July, has shown itself to be a great sports market as well.”
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