LeBron James and Maverick Carter's meeting with prince from $1.4 trillion royal family key factor in $5 billion global basketball league

For decades, the NBA has remained at the top as the best basketball tournament on Earth. That doesn't mean they haven't had their fair share of competition. Now, one of their greatest players ever might ease things up and pave the way for another potential rival.

According to a report by ESPN's Shams Charania, LeBron James' lifelong business partner and friend, Maverick Carter, is leading an initiative to raise $5 billion to develop a new global basketball league.

The league would reportedly consist of six men's and six women's teams, and they want to raise the funds from institutional investors. However, that might include sovereign wealth funds.

Per Brian Windhorst and Tim Bontemps, a meeting James and Carter held with a $1.4 trillion-valued Arabian royal family's prince could be key to this initiative:

"In 2023, Carter and James went to Saudi Arabia and met with Prince Badr bin Abdullah Al-Saud, a member of the Saudi royal family and the nation's Minister of Culture," read the report.

Under current NBA rules, the league allows outside capital to make up a maximum of 20% of a team's stake. Also, the league requires the stake to be passive, meaning that those investors don't have a say in the team's decision-making.

LeBron James wants to own an NBA team

Besides being one of the greatest players to ever play the game, LeBron James is quite a savvy businessman.

Back in 2023, he admitted his desire to own an NBA franchise at one point. With all the rumors about expansion to Las Vegas, the Los Angeles Lakers star has been rumored to be in the running to lead an investment group to start a team there:

"I think it's only a matter of time, and I hope I'm part of that time," James said. "I would love to bring a team here at some point. That would be amazing. I know (NBA commissioner) Adam is in Abu Dhabi right now, I believe. But he probably sees every single interview and transcript that comes through from NBA players. So, I want the team here, Adam. Thank you."

The league has delayed its plans for expansion for a long time, but even the commissioner admitted that they would pick talks up sooner rather than later. And while James might be on his way out as a player, it seems like his days in the NBA are far from over.