Best NBA player in the world. Three-time champion. The man responsible for ending the city of Cleveland’s title drought, and for bringing the Cavaliers their first-ever Larry O’Brien Trophy. Future Hall of Famer. Greatest-of-all-time candidate.
Yessiree, LeBron James is having quite the career. I bet you even think he is living out his dream. So did I. But, alas, we are wrong.
His real dream is to own an NBA team, as he said on Uninterrupted’s Open Run podcast, per Cleveland.com’s Joe Vardon:
LeBron James said his “dream is to actually own” an NBA team, thus declaring for himself a potentially concrete path when his illustrious career comes to an end and he has a large financial fortune at his disposal.
James made the comments during the first episode of a new podcast for Uninterrupted, the on-line, social media-driven platform he created for athletes. He was responding to a question about whether he might want to be a general manager when his playing days are over.
“I think so,” James said on the podcast, called ‘Open Run,’ hosted by actor Jesse Williams and Stefan Marolachakis. ‘Open Run’ is a popular podcast that was acquired by Uninterrupted, with James the guest for the first show released Wednesday.
“I feel like my brain as far as the game of basketball is unique and I would love to continue to give my knowledge to the game,” James said. “And I would love to be a part of a franchise, if not at the top. My dream is to actually own a team and I don’t need to have fully hands on. If I’m fortunate enough to own a team, then I’m going to hire the best GM and president that I can.
“But I have a feel like I have a good eye for not only talent, because we all see a lot of talent, but the things that make the talent, the chemistry, what type of guy he is, his work ethic, his passion, the basketball IQ side of things, because talent only goes so far.”
So the Cavaliers should be up for sale by the time James retires, right?
This dream of LeBron’s is not inconceivable. Michael Jordan, a GOAT candidate himself, owns the Charlotte Hornets. And LeBron has endorsement deals up the wazoo, most notably his lifetime deal with Nike.
Of course, an NBA team have never been more expensive. Steve Ballmer bought the Los Angeles Clippers for $2 billion in 2014. Jordan became a controlling owner with the Hornets, then the Bobcats, for $175 million. He was an initial investor with the team and has since paid more money to own a larger controlling stake, but depending on the franchise LeBron would want to buy, cost differential will be astronomical.
You have to consider, after all, that we are probably talking 10, maybe 15 years down the line. There’s no telling how much an NBA team will be worth by then. Values are only trending up, especially after the latest TV deal, and they may only continue climbing over the next decade-plus. That doesn’t exactly kill James’ dream, but it’s not doing him any favors, either.
Don’t worry, though, LeBron. I’m pulling for you.
Here’s hoping you’re worth billions in the not-too-distant future.
