An ambitious new international basketball league is seeking investors.
Per Bloomberg, LeBron James‘ business partner Maverick Carter is advising a group looking to rival the NBA and WNBA with $5billion in private capital.
UBS Group AG and Evercore Inc. have reportedly been enlisted to help raise funds from wealthy individuals and collectives such as sovereign wealth funds.
Skype co-founder Geoff Prentice, former Facebook executive Grady Burnett, and the investment firm SC Holdings are also named as being involved in the project in Bloomberg’s report.
The format would see six men’s and six women’s teams play in eight worldwide cities modeled on the Formula 1 season.
Singapore, which hosts a Grand Prix, is one of the locations.
The NBA is pushing its own international expansion with in-season games held in Paris and Abu Dhabi hosting preseason action featuring the reigning champions Boston Celtics in October.
League bosses have also unveiled plans to return to China in October, looking to recapture a share of the world’s second-biggest economy.
The WNBA is also reported to be planning an international game featuring Caitlin Clark‘s Indiana Fever to capitalize on its recent ratings surge.
Fans took to social media to share their thoughts on the international upstart with many focusing on LeBron’s ties to childhood friend and advisor Carter.
“Bron never getting a foul call ever again,” joked one.
“LeBron isn’t interested in creating a new league, he’s establishing leverage,” added another. “He will force the NBA to allow him to acquire ownership of an NBA expansion franchise.”
“Competing with the top established professional sports league in any given sport rarely ends well,” warned a third.
“NBA should’ve done this years ago. A champions League style tournament with international clubs would be good for the game,” in reference to European soccer’s top-tier club tournament.
LeBron is still going strong at 40, breaking records and astounding opponents with his physical gifts.
He is also taking his role as an ambassador for the sport seriously and has been praised for a heartwarming gesture.
Video footage showed the a girl wearing a No. 23 Lakers jersey bending over and crying in disbelief as King James walked near her on Wednesday night.
“A family friend sent me the clip at halftime,” said LeBron, who scored 22 points in the Lakers 117-108 home victory over the the Miami Heat.
He walked toward the girl after the game to give her his purple wristband and then kneel for a photo.
“Thank goodness that I looked at my phone at halftime or I wouldn’t have even seen the reaction when I waved to her in the first half,” James said.
“To have that type of connection with someone where they can have that type of reaction, that’s what it’s all about.
“I’ve always tried to be a role model and someone that kids can look up to me — men, women, whatever the case may be — and try to make them proud and they want to come see me play.”
James, who has three children, was also overwhelmed by the power of the girl’s reaction.
“That was a super-dope moment,” James said. “I have a little girl myself back home. I made sure that I went over and chopped it up with her after the game.
“I gave her one of my ‘I Promise’ bands and took a picture with her. … I think it will be something that hopefully she will never forget.”