Maverick Carter, longtime close friend and business partner of LeBron James, is an advisor to a group of investors looking to form an international basketball league, per Bloomberg. The investors are seeking $5 billion from private capital sources to create a league of six men’s and six women’s basketball teams that will tour around the globe across different cities to play.
There aren’t many details yet, but Singapore has been pinned as one of the cities where games would take place. The teams would rotate through cities, staying in each spot for two weeks. James is said not to be an investor in the venture.
It’s unclear which players this league would be for, especially as leagues across Europe and Asia already attract the best talent not in the NBA. As of right now, this certainly wouldn’t attract top NBA talent, but that could change. One way this could rival the NBA at some point is the possibility for players to get equity in the league, allowing them to make even more money.
It’s similar to what WNBA players have just created with the Unrivaled 3-on-3 basketball league, which is set to tip off its first season on Jan. 17. That league was co-founded by WNBA superstars Breanna Stewart and Naphessa Collier to provide an alternative source of competition and income for WNBA players during the offseason. Many of the WNBA’s top players are participating. Not only are the salaries competitive with what the WNBA is paying, but Unrivaled is also offering players equity in the league.
It also brings to mind how LIV Golf lured many of the sport’s top players from the PGA to earn massive paydays from LIV. If this new international basketball league successfully lures investors with deep pockets, which is its plan targeting sovereign wealth funds, we may see NBA teams competing with other leagues for talent. It may not attract the 1% of the league, but a mid-tier player could be swayed by the possibility of earning significantly more overseas while being one of the top stars.
This is years down the road thinking, but NBA commissioner Adam Silver said in July 2023 that there are no plans for the league to allow sovereign wealth funds to control NBA teams. So if another league comes in and offers bigger paydays than the NBA can down the line, they may have some competition in the future.
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