If Maverick Carter has his way, the NBA may have some legitimate competition for the first time since merging with the ABA nearly 50 years ago. Carter is part of a group of international titans of industry looking to put $5 billion together to challenge the NBA by playing in eight cities around the world. The concept would be similar to the models used by F1 Racing or LIV Golf, or even what the BIG3 tries to do on a smaller scale in the U.S.

That would mean no city actually owns any team. Rather, each team travels to the same city for two weeks, plays a series of games there, and then moves on to the next city, using a rotating schedule.

There would be several differences between this league and the NBA.

  • 6 men's teams and 6 women's teams
  • Would play in 8 cities around the world
  • Players would own a piece of the league

That last point is where they believe they have the advantage. If players see ownership as an attractive concept, they could pass up the NBA and play for Carter’s league. The wealth that comes with being a part-owner could be generational.

And if the league fails, players wouldn’t assume any financial risk, other than the stain of being a part of such a venture. Because where the money comes from to fund the league could create its own set of problems.

If, say, Saudi Arabia throws their weight behind this – like they did by giving Jon Rahm, Bryson DeChambeau and Brooks Koepka nine figures to play LIV Golf, or handing out bags of cash to Ronaldo, Neymar and others to play in the Saudi soccer league – that would put players in an awkward position.

For now, they aren’t among the initial investors, but raising $5 billion doesn’t happen overnight. And playing internationally always creates its own set of problems.

But don’t think the NBA isn’t taking this seriously. Carter wouldn’t put his name behind this if it weren’t a legitimate operation. And, of course, Carter is a long-time business partner of LeBron James, which creates the question of whether LeBron is also part of the new venture.

As of now, that’s not the case. Probably because that would end LeBron’s dream of owning an NBA franchise if he were to have any part of a competing league. Not to mention, it would mark the end of his NBA playing days as well, which is why he couldn’t possibly have his name attached .. at least not yet.

In the meantime, the threat of competition is real. And the NBA may need to prepare themselves for a battle they likely never saw coming.