The NBA career of Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James has reached unprecedented territory as he gets set to enter his 22nd season in the league.
James has broken almost every record possible, including becoming the NBA’s all-time leading scorer in 2023. And he continues to play at an extremely high level despite being on the verge of turning 40, leading USA Basketball to a gold medal at the 2024 Olympics this summer in Paris while bringing home MVP honors.
LeBron won’t be able to play forever, however, and it seems that he already has his post-playing career mapped out. James has been vocal for a while now about his desire to eventually own an NBA franchise with Las Vegas being a potential location for an expansion team in the coming years.
And James’ business partner and good friend Maverick Carter recently confirmed that the Lakers star wants to get into ownership, via the Pat McAfee Show:
“LeBron is dead set on owning an NBA team. But he’s still playing and I have no idea how much longer he’s gonna play. I would’ve thought that he would be done a few years ago but he’s out there with the beard now with the grey still letting the young guys know that grandpops is out here still ballin’.”
Active NBA players are not allowed to have ownership stakes in teams, so James will have to put those desires on hold until he finishes playing. And as Carter stated, it looks like LeBron still has a few good years left in him.
At this point though, James is only playing for championships so hopefully the Lakers make the necessary moves to give him a legit shot at another ring.
Jeanie Buss believes LeBron James is a bargain for Lakers
LeBron James signed a new contract with the Lakers this offseason at near max money as he will play for at least one more year. Lakers owner Jeanie Buss explained why she views it as a bargain for the organization and didn’t have a problem with him representing his country at the Olympics.
“I think, he’s so competitive, it’s really gotta be something that he wants to do. We always support our players in the decisions that they make in regards to playing for their national team or not. It was something that was important to LeBron and yes, he is our highest-paid player, but he’s still a bargain to me. He’s absolutely amazing. Because we’re a salary cap league, there’s only so much that we can pay him. He brings us the notoriety in the league but also internationally. He’s a huge star and he’s a great leader for this team. What he does for our young players, what he does for the community. We’re proud to be partners with him. It’s the same as Magic Johnson and Kobe Bryant, because we’re in a capped league, they probably should have been paid twice what they get. But we can only pay him the maximum.”
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