Cleveland Cavaliers superstar small forward LeBron James has already ruled out coaching as a post-NBA career, but he isn’t eliminating team ownership as a possibility. In fact, the King recently told Ken Berger of The Athletic that he “will own a team one day.”
“Why do I want to own team?,” James asked. “I think it’ll be cool. I’ll stay part of the game and still be able to put people in positions of power. I’ve always loved that, putting people in a position of power to feel like they can make a change and make things happen.”
If his dreams of ownership are to come true, James says he would like to continue working with his current business partners — Maverick Carter, Randy Mims, and agent Rich Paul.
James, now 32 years of age and in his 14th season of NBA service, has spoken of team ownership in the past. During an Uninterrupted podcast in August of 2016, the three-time champion hinted at his desires for the future.
“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. 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.”
For now, James is focused on facing the Golden State Warriors in the NBA Finals for an unprecedented third consecutive season. If he does indeed end up owning a team in the future, it seems The Kid from Akron has already picked his business partners.