LeBron James‘ long-time manager Maverick Carter is on the hunt for $5 billion in capital for a startup new basketball league.
As first reported by Bloomberg, Carter is advising a group of investors, which includes private equity funds. Bloomberg has also reported the investment group could seek contributions from sovereign wealth funds.
The group of investors has turned to Evercore Inc. and UBS Group AG to help reach that goal via sovereign wealth funds, per Bloomberg. That report also listed former Facebook executive Grady Burnett and Skype co-founder Geoff Prentice among the other backers.
Currently the NBA limits private equity stakes in teams to 20 percent, while sovereign wealth funds are capped at 5 percent.
The newly proposed league will consist of six men’s and six women’s teams, with games scheduled around the world, ESPN is reporting. Front Office sports says the league will be entirely outside of North America and names Singapore as one of its potential host cities.
According to reports, the league is looking to be ‘an F1 for basketball,’ not a competition for the NBA, which hasn’t faced a domestic rival since the ABA merger in 1976.
Per Bloomberg, a target date has yet to be set for the league, which plans to have six men’s and eight women’s teams playing in eight cities — for two weeks at a time — outside the United States. Singapore is among the cities on the list, according to Front Office Sports.
It’s important to note that James is not an investor and has no involvement with the league, according to multiple reports.
Besides, James and his Lakers teammates have other problems, facing the fallout from the LA wildfires along with the rest of southern California. James and his family continue to stay in a hotel after evacuating their home because of the wildfires that have engulfed the Los Angeles area for the past week.
They were among those forced to leave the upscale Brentwood community, and the Lakers star told reporters after the team beat the Miami Heat on Wednesday that they were hoping to return soon.
The rental home occupied by Lakers coach JJ Redick and his family in the Pacific Palisades area burned down, and James said he knows others who have been impacted.
‘Our friends that lost their homes, just being there for them,’ said James, who scored 22 points in 38 minutes in the Lakers’ 117-108 win on Wednesday. ‘It’s very challenging, especially when you got kids and you lose your home and all their belongings … it’s a lot to try to wrap your head around it. I’m very happy that my family is safe.’
Two Lakers’ home games were postponed last week because of the fires, and James admitted the events had affected him.
‘Personally, I’ve been off,’ James, 40, said. ‘Personally, my family, we’ve been evacuated since (last) Thursday night, so I’ve been in a hotel since pretty much when we got back from Dallas. So, just figuring it out. But staying strong for one another. Obviously, that’s most important.’
James said his home, thus far, is safe.
Carter’s endeavor comes as another basketball league, Unrivaled, introduced itself to fans in Miami.
The 3-on-3 women’s basketball league co-founded by WNBA stars Breanna Stewart and Napheesa Collier debuted Friday night. The two squared off in the opening game and fittingly Stewart scored the first basket in league history – a baseline jumper. Collier’s team got the last laugh though, rallying to win the inaugural game.
‘I think this was a great first game just showing what we can do and showing what the experience can be like,’ Collier said after the 84-80 win.
The idea for the domestic league was first discussed a couple of years ago and now it’s come to fruition.
‘I can’t even put it into words what it’s going to be like,’ Stewart said. ‘But just the fact that there’s so much hype, there’s so much content, so much chatter about opening night and we worked really hard to get to this point both on and off the court. Excited to kind of just go in and showcase what we’ve done.’
The league features 36 of the best players in the WNBA, including Brittney Griner and sensational rookie Angel Reese, who definitely was a favorite of the crowd.
