‘I want to own a team in Las Vegas’: Lakers’ LeBron James lays out plan for becoming NBA owner, expansion in new episode of ‘The Shop’
When the King drops comments like this, people will listen.
The sun is not rising on LeBron James’ playing career, it’s setting, and there’s been a lot of talk about where James might finish out the last few seasons of his Hall-of-Fame career.
In the latest episode of ‘The Shop’ for Uninterrupted, James hinted at what his first big move might be once his playing career is over.
In the episode dropping Friday, James put to end any talk that he might move into a media role.
Will LeBron James become an NBA owner?
“I want to own a team. Yeah, I want to buy a team, for sure,” the Los Angeles Lakers star said.
“I would much rather own a team before I talk (about the game),” James said in the 19-second snippet. “I want to own a team in Vegas. Yeah, I want the team in Vegas.”
James even quote-tweeted the original post from The Uninterrupted Twitter account promoting the show, saying “Speaking It Into Existence.”
James also mentions in the episode that the Golden State Warriors are the one playoff team remaining that he would like to join.
“It would be Golden State. I would love getting into a pissing match with Draymond [Green],” James joked (we think). “I love when someone cusses me out.”
We don’t know when the episode was filmed so perhaps some more context is needed to digest that answer once the episode screens.
In a previous episode of The Shop, James also got the basketball world buzzing when he said Steph Curry was the player he’d most like to play with – other than his son.
“In today’s game, sh– there’s some m—–f—— in today’s game, but Steph Curry” James said. “Steph Curry’s the one that I wanna play with for sure, in today’s game. … I love everything about that guy. Lethal. When he get out his car, you better guard him right from the moment he pulls up to the arena. … You might wanna guard him when he get out of the bed. Swear to god. He’s serious.”
LeBron James net worth
Even if the Warriors talk is hypothetical, let’s circle back on the idea of James owning an NBA team.
Of course, it’s one thing for James to pontificate about following in Michael Jordan’s footsteps as an owner. It’s another to actually do it, especially given the exorbitant price tag.
According a report from Forbes prior to the start of the season, NBA team valuations run anywhere from $1.5 billion (Grizzlies) all the way up to $5.8 billion. (Knicks). Most recently, Marc Lore and Alex Rodriguez purchased the Minnesota Timberwolves for $1.5 billion, a process that is still unfolding as they will not become majority owners until 2023.
Long story short: it takes a lot of cash.
The good news for James is that he’s certainly capable of staking a large portion. James made more headlines last week when he became a billionaire based on his 2021 pre-tax earnings, according to Forbes. He’s earned more than $385 million on the court with the Cavaliers, Heat and Lakers while raking in excess of $900 million from endorsements and other business interests.
He’s the first active NBA player to reach that milestone and the first to do it since current Hornets’ owner Michael Jordan crossed the billionaire threshold in 2014.
How to watch ‘The Shop’ with LeBron James
- Date: Friday, June 10 (ET)
- Time: 12 p.m ET / 9 a.m PT
- Streaming: Uninterrupted YouTube Channel
You can catch the latest episode of ‘The Shop’ on the Uninterrupted YouTube channel. Uninterrupted is an athlete empowerment brand founded by James and Maverick Carter that mostly produces original video, audio and social content.
