LeBron James explains why he wants to own NBA team in Las Vegas

LeBron James: Future NBA owner of Las Vegas franchise? He hoped so.

• go through
  
  Ricky O’Donnell
  

• exist October 10, 2023 2:48 pm

LeBron James is entering his 21st season in the NBA, and understandably, he’s starting to think about life after basketball. James, who turns 39 in December, already has a number of business interests, most notably his production company SpringHill Entertainment.

It is known that James wants to play with his son Bronny before retiring. Now, James’ first major post-retirement plans are starting to get real attention.

James hopes to own an NBA team in Las Vegas after retiring. After the Los Angeles Lakers’ preseason win over the Brooklyn Nets on Monday, he talked about why he wants to own a team in Vegas during a postgame interview.

“I think it’s just a matter of time and I hope I can be a part of it,” James said when asked about the NBA’s expansion in Vegas.

The NBA said it would consider expansion again in 2025 after the league re-enters its television deal. Plans are already underway for a new basketball court in Las Vegas, which is hoped to open in 2026. The league already has many ties to Las Vegas: It hosts its annual summer league there, the U.S. national team trains there and has previously hosted All-Star Weekend.

It seems only a matter of time before two new NBA expansion teams in Las Vegas and Seattle.

James sent out the tweet as his postgame comments began circulating.

James is no stranger to owning sports teams: He owns a stake in Fenway Sports Group, which owns the Boston Red Sox, Pittsburgh Penguins and Liverpool FC.

Michael Jordan made a lot of money buying and selling NBA teams. LeBron is next.

read more