LeBron James has made it clear time and time again that he wants to own an NBA team, intending to bring an expansion team to Las Vegas. But as of March 2026, he pivoted from these ambitions, saying he was “not at all” interested in ownership.
While the Fenway Sports Group claimed that this was mostly because team expenses had risen to over $7 to $10 billion, another eye-opening report has now come to light, which potentially puts the reasoning behind James’ decision to not invest in his lifelong dream under further scrutiny.
According to Joe Vardon and Mike Vorkunov of The Athletic, LeBron James’ long-time business partner, Maverick Carter, is a part of the board of directors of the “Project B League,” a league that is reportedly being created to directly rival the NBA.
They are reportedly planning to lure players away from the league with a higher salary and equity in the growth of the league that incentivizes them not to extend their NBA contracts.
The new league is expected to overlap with the schedule of the NBA, playing from November to April. Therefore, the players will be effectively forced to choose between playing in either of the leagues and not both.
Grady Burnett, one of the co-founders of Project B, spoke to Vardon and Vorkunov regarding the role of Maverick Carter, LeBron James, and their plans to expand in the future.
Burnett told The Athletic that the new league plans on “extending the careers of established players” when it launches next fall and is also working once again with Maverick Carter, a longtime friend and business partner of James.
“Carter, 44, who oversees day-to-day operations of James’ businesses, had been a consultant for Project B until this fall but is now back in the fold as an adviser and board director, Burnett said.”
“A spokesman for Carter confirmed Carter was a friend and advisor to Burnett, but said Carter had no formal role with the new league. Carter did not respond to a message seeking comment,” they wrote in the report.
Last year, shocking reports initially claimed Carter was looking for investors and eventually pulled out of the bid altogether. But now, it seems he has been working with them from behind the curtains.
“We’ve not had conversations at this point,” Burnett said on whether they have approached LeBron James to help promote, if not outrightly own a team in the new league.
“We’re focused, as I said, on building the foundation, and we will have those conversations as we go forward with the right players at the right time,” Burnett said.
The league has already rolled out its female players list, which includes big names like Nneka Ogwumike, Alyssa Thomas, Jewell Loyd, and Sophie Cunningham. Burnett revealed they have similar plans for the male players.
“We have a blueprint that we followed on the women’s side that brought us those top players,” he said. “We’re applying the same blueprint on the men’s side that focuses on developing the best young talent in the world and extending the careers of established players.”
Therefore, despite the comments from the Lakers’ veteran on why he’s no longer interested in owning an NBA team, the real reason why he is giving up on his dream remains unclear.
But the fact that Maverick Carter, who is also a part of the Fenway Sports Group, the conglomerate that represents James’ interests in several other sports teams like Liverpool, shows that his business plans may have influenced James into pivoting away from owning an NBA team.
