LeBron James and Maverick Carter have always had bigger ambitions than basketball, and their latest high-profile meeting in France has only added fuel to the fire. In a photo that recently went viral on Instagram, LeBron James and Carter were spotted lounging on a yacht alongside Misko Raznatovic, the longtime European agent of NBA superstar Nikola Jokic. While the image initially sparked trade speculation between the Lakers and Nuggets, new reports have shed light on a much bigger story, one that has nothing to do with their current teams.
According to Front Office Sports, the boat meeting wasn’t about Jokic, the Nuggets, or any potential NBA movement. Instead, it centered around Carter’s ambitious effort to launch a global basketball league—an elite, privately funded international tour that aims to feature six men’s and six women’s teams competing across eight global cities. Backed by investors and reportedly seeking $5 billion in funding, the venture could reshape the international basketball landscape and create an alternative platform for elite-level hoops outside of the NBA and EuroLeague.
The viral Instagram post includes a fiery caption to invoke intrigue: “The summer of 2025 is the perfect time to make big plans for the fall of 2026.” It was also located in France, another key hint about the occasion.
Seemingly for a while now, James has been at work behind the scenes building a new legacy beyond the NBA. Rather than take the traditional route of becoming a team owner or media figure, LeBron appears to be crafting something even bigger: a league of his own, built on his vision for global basketball and backed by some of the most powerful names in the sport.
As LeBron has vocalized before, the NBA is in a controversial state right now, and not everyone agrees with where things are headed. For James, the league is almost unrecognizable today, and he believes that the negative media discourse has contributed to its overall decline. Under normal circumstances, James would only have so much power to dictate and control the basketball landscape.
But in his own, potentially global basketball league, James would be free to set the rules and create a new precedent for what former athletes can do after walking away from the game. He could establish a brand new legacy for himself that stretches beyond what he ever could be as a player. It would no doubt take a lot of time and investment, but LeBron is someone who has enough resources to make it happen, especially if he’s got Maverick Carter and Misko Raznatovic by his side.
If successful, this new league could represent the next frontier for post-NBA player empowerment—an entirely new model for global competition, brand-building, and athlete-led entrepreneurship. And while it’s still in its early stages, the vision is clear: LeBron James isn’t just shaping basketball history, he’s rewriting its future blueprint.
