Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James has spent the first 16 seasons of his NBA career chasing “the ghost” of Michael Jordan, along with the title of the greatest to ever play the game. League executives suggest the chase won't be over when he calls it a career, bound to follow Jordan's footsteps as a potential owner of an NBA team:
“I see LeBron owning multiple teams someday,” said Fenway Sports president Sam Kennedy, according to ESPN's Brian Windhorst. “Not just NBA, but perhaps international soccer and maybe in esports. One thing we've learned working with LeBron is that he sees the big picture. He has a track record of making smart decisions and looking for opportunities. He's also been very successfully financially, and that's what you have to do to become a sports team owner.”
James received an ownership stake in Liverpool F.C. of England's Premier League in 2011, one that was recorded as a $6.5 million investment back then. Today, his stake in the team's ownership is worth more than $32 million after the team's run to the finals of the UEFA Champions League in 2018, according to ESPN's Darren Rovell.
Others in league circles think James will find a way to take the next step, just as he has managed to transform a league once heavy in owner power into a player-power league.
Former NBA players like Shaquille O'Neal, Grant Hill and Elliot Perry have gone on to make the transition from former player to part owner, with Jordan atop of them all as the majority owner of his own franchise, the Charlotte Hornets:
“LeBron has figured the league out and taken ahold of his career in a unique way,” Perry said. “He's tremendously smart in the way he conducts himself on and off the court. It's been intentional, and he can change the conversation about cracking the ceiling [for more players to become owners]. He'll find the right place and time. That's what Michael [Jordan] did and that's how LeBron will do it too.”
LeBron James' hefty career earnings and multimillion-dollar earnings from Nike and other partnerships have catapulted him as one of Forbes' richest athletes, recently cracking the top 10 in 2018.
The capital, the charisma and the connections are all there for him to take advantage of, and after a conscientious move to Los Angeles, all he needs is the right opportunity to come along.
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