Four years ago, LeBron James was unequivocal, saying on his own podcast that he wanted to be an NBA owner when he retired: “I want to buy a team, for sure… I want a team in Vegas. I want the team in Vegas.”
Times change and minds change. With an NBA expansion team in Las Vegas looking more and more like a reality, LeBron was equally unequivocal Wednesday night, saying he is “Not at all” interested in owning an NBA team.
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LeBron is an investor and partner in the Fenway Sports Group, which owns the Boston Red Sox and English Premier League soccer powerhouse Liverpool, among other holdings. That group is not interested in bidding for an NBA team in Las Vegas, reports Joe Vardon and Mike Vorkunov at The Athletic. It is put off by the reported at least $7 billion expansion rights fee the league is seeking from each new team. If Fenway is out, LeBron would have to find other financial backers to make that kind of bid, and it doesn’t sound like he is interested.
The CBA also prohibits an active NBA player from owning a team, and on a night LeBron dropped 30 points on the Rockets on 13-of-14 shooting, he didn’t look like someone ready to retire.
LeBron will be a free agent at the end of this season, at age 41, and has said he is undecided about his future. The expectation in league circles is that he will play one more season, although likely with another team rather than the Lakers. That timeline would prevent him from being in on the ground floor of any NBA team in Las Vegas.
