Report: LeBron James not involved in manager's rival basketball league

LeBron James has made it abundantly clear that one of his post-playing plans involves owning an NBA team. As such, it's unsurprising he won't be involved in business manager Maverick Carter's ambitious plan to start a global basketball league rivaling the NBA.

According to ESPN's Shams Charania, the Lakers star "is not involved in the efforts with this new league."

Bloomberg first reported Thursday that Carter is putting together a group of investors to raise $5B to form a league consisting of six men's and six women's teams. The games will reportedly be played in eight cities across the world with two weeks in each destination. The league will be modeled around a similar schedule to the Formula One calendar, with Singapore serving as one of the eight host cities. 

The report noted that the league's backers will "face significant challenges" to gain a market share, citing failed rival leagues that tried to compete with the NFL and NBA in recent years. 

The NBA, too, is reportedly trying to launch a sister league in Europe. Last month, FIBA secretary general Andreas Zagklis said that FIBA and the NBA were in "serious conversation" about a new European league rivaling the EuroLeague and other leagues across the continent. 

NBA commissioner Adam Silver echoed the report during his recent appearance on "The Big Podcast" with Shaquille O'Neal. 

"There’s an opportunity to create an independent league there [in Europe]," Silver said. "This could leverage the enormous interest in basketball in major European capitals like Paris, London, Berlin, and Madrid and other major cities that love basketball."

Silver also floated the idea of future NBA expansion based in Europe. 

"One day, maybe it will be my successor, I can definitely see a division of NBA teams in Europe and I think that will be an incredible thing for the game," Silver said.

That would indeed be a glorious day. 

To further illustrate the NBA's global impact, a Greek (Giannis Antetokounmpo) and a Serbian (Nikola Jokic) continue to be the leading vote-getters for the 2025 All-Star Game.