Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James had made it known for a while that he hopes to eventually own an NBA team after his playing days are over.
And that dream seemed like it could be coming to fruition as the NBA is starting to move forward with potential expansion plans, targeting Las Vegas and Seattle as the two new cities, via Shams Charania of ESPN:
The NBA will hold a vote at the board of governors meetings next week to explore adding expansion teams exclusively in Las Vegas and Seattle, sources told ESPN, with the two new franchises being targeted to start play in the 2028-29 season.
There is momentum within the board of governors and league office to approve moving forward with taking bids for franchises in Las Vegas and Seattle, according to sources with knowledge of the discussions.
Whenever James has talked about owning a team, he has always envisioned Las Vegas being the place for it. He is currently involved with the Fenway Sports Group, who own the Boston Red Sox and Liverpool F.C., and the thought was that they would again come together whenever NBA followed through with expansion plans.
According to Joe Vardon and Mike Vorkunov of The Athletic though, the Fenway Sports Group may not be interested in the NBA because of how much money it would take to buy a team, leaving James’ plans in question:
Fenway Sports Group, James’ business partner since 2011 that owns both the Boston Red Sox and English Premier League soccer giant Liverpool, is not currently interested in pursuing the likely expansion opportunity in Las Vegas, two sources with direct knowledge of the firm’s intentions told The Athletic. One of those sources, who was not authorized to speak publicly for Fenway, said the global sports investment firm was out on NBA ownership in Las Vegas because of the expected cost — the league is reportedly seeking expansion fees as high as $8 billion per team.
FSG was long expected to be James’ primary financial backer in his stated desire to be an NBA team owner, and because of that, a source close to James said, “With Fenway no longer pursuing NBA ownership, it is less likely that LeBron will pursue a team.”
James would later confirm that he is no longer interested in the Las Vegas expansion plans, via Tim McMahon of ESPN:
LeBron James on potentially being part of a group bidding on a Las Vegas expansion team: “No, I’m not. Not at all.”
— Tim MacMahon (@BannedMacMahon) March 19, 2026
Owning a team in Las Vegas is something James has talked about for a while, so he obviously had a recent change of heart. Current players can’t own a team regardless though, so perhaps he will reassess once he decides to hang up his sneakers.
Why NBA wants to expand, with or without LeBron James
With how high team valuations have gotten in recent years, it makes sense why the NBA and its governors would be interested in expanding to 32 teams. The Lakers recently saw Mark Walter buy a majority stake in the storied franchise at a $10 billion valuation, so there’s obviously interest and demand in NBA teams.
Las Vegas and Seattle are perfect cities for expansion as they’re favorable markets who already have sports teams thriving.
The first round of voting is considered a crucial step in expansion as it will allow the league to focus on the Las Vegas and Seattle markets as part of the bidding process. For the current governors, the upside is in the revenue that the cities would theoretically pull in though there are factors like equity and fees to be considered.
Overall, though, it feels like it’s only a matter of time until the league announces its two newest franchises. From there, they will have to decide who will own those teams, and it looks like it won’t be James.
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