During a discussion with his media Uninterrupted, LeBron James returned to one of his old dreams: to own an NBA franchise. Billionaire recently, the King would even mark the NBA. Why ? Well, he wants his team to be based… in Las Vegas. We hope there will be air conditioning in the room.
The Nevada desert is not the most hospitable place. Blocked between the two chains of the Rocky Mountains, the air is very dry and the temperatures are often insane. However, the largest city in the State of Nevada has crystallized all fantasies for many years. Las Vegas, the city of casinos, industrialized marriage, and letting go. Nevertheless, in terms of sport, the desert metropolis has only recently attracted major franchises, probably because setting up a team in the middle of the world of sports betting has long been a hindrance. Now there’s the NFL with the Raiders, ice hockey with the Golden Knights… and for the orange ball, the Aces in the WNBA. Regarding these gentlemen, no team represents Vegas in the NBA, despite the incessant rumors – more or less founded – about an expansion of the League to LV. Right behind Seattle in most hallway noise and being a media-heavy city, Las Vegas would in some ways be a pretty logical choice for business. LeBron James in all this? Well, the guy would simply like to become the owner of an NBA team based in Sin City.
“I want to own a franchise. I want a team in Vegas. I want my team to be in Vegas. »
– LeBron James
So already BronBron, it’s not you who chooses. On the actual likelihood of new franchises entering the Big League, Adam Silver was pretty clear to the media: for now, there are other things on the menu on the management side. We still understand the communication blow of LeBron James huh. Hop a little statement here, another there… and he makes it clear to everyone that if there was an expansion, he would be in on it. As a reminder, he already has shares in the Boston Red Sox (baseball) and is a minority shareholder in the Liverpool football club. If one day he becomes the majority owner of an NBA franchise, in Vegas or elsewhere, he will only be the second all-time player to take on this costume after… Michael Jordan.
« I want a team in Vegas. » ???? @KingJames hints at his next big move on an all new episode of #TheShop TOMORROW at 9 am PT on our YouTube! ???? pic.twitter.com/HIZKsBYPGF
— UNINTERRUPTED (@uninterrupted) June 9, 2022
Be careful though that this kind of statement does not play against him. If we take a scenario in which an expansion of the NBA does not happen for some time, then it could be complicated for the King to buy a franchise. Why ? Well with such remarks, how to sell a team to someone whom we know full well that relocating it is a primary desire? Inevitably the fans will not like it, even if we have already seen in the past that it does not necessarily prevent transactions. The challenge is in any case daunting for James, the average value of an NBA franchise today being estimated at 2.48 billion dollars according to Forbes.
A men’s basketball team in Las Vegas? For LeBron James, it’s yes, yes and again yes. There is still a good time before all this becomes possible, but the King has positioned himself and Adam Silver has been warned: Sin City is definitely a place that attracts investors.
Source texte : Uninterrupted
