Maverick Carter, LeBron James’ longtime business partner, has been tabbed as a consultant to a group of investors seeking to raise as much as $5 billion for an international basketball league, a person familiar with the development told USA TODAY Sports.
The person requested anonymity because he was not authorized to speak publicly about Carter’s involvement.
Bloomberg first reported the news.
The league would, according to Bloomberg, consist of six men’s teams and six women’s teams and play games at limited cities around the world.
James and his agent, Rich Paul, are not involved in this idea, another person familiar with the situation told USA TODAY Sports under the condition of anonymity so he could speak freely. James has expressed his interest in joining an NBA ownership group after he retires from playing.
Meanwhile, the NBA heads overseas next week for two games in Paris between San Antonio and Indiana on January 23 and January 25, marking Victor Wembanyama’s first NBA games in his home country.
While there, NBA commissioner Adam Silver, deputy commissioner Mark Tatum and other high-ranking league executives plan to continue discussions with European stakeholders, including FIBA, about the prospect of a new league in Europe which would include NBA involvement.
“When we were in Paris for the Olympics, we spent a lot of time meeting with interested parties there,” Silver told reporters last month at the NBA Cup final in Las Vegas. “We’ll be back in Paris in January for the two games with the Spurs and the Pacers. We’ll use that opportunity to meet with more interested groups then.
“It’s something we continue to study. It’s not only that we are not ready to make any public announcements, but we haven’t made any internal decisions yet. I do think there continues to be an enormous opportunity to take basketball to another level in Europe. I joined the NBA shortly before the Dream Team in 1992. People were saying the same thing coming out of the Dream Team: what an opportunity. For whatever reasons, that dynamic in Europe, we haven’t seen a basketball league emerge, or a Champions‑type league emerge, where it’s had great fan receptivity.”
The NBA believes there is an unrealized financial opportunity.
In Paris in August, Tatum told USA TODAY Sports, “What’s the best sort of product to be able to introduce into the market that will engage fans in a meaningful way and continue to grow the sport of basketball?
Follow NBA reporter Jeff Zillgitt on social media @JeffZillgitt