LeBron James is a man who has open secrets. That is to say, there are things widely speculated about LeBron that, in time, become reality. It was known for months, for example, that James wanted to join the Los Angeles Lakers in free agency. He did that last summer. Then there was the talk about James taking Michael Jordan’s place as the star of a Space Jam movie.
And after years of speculation about that open secret, it’s a sequel is finally happening. Whether through sheer will or the power that comes with being one of the most visible athletes in the world, James has been able to achieve pretty much anything he’s put his mind to since he joined the NBA.
The next open secret on the list is his desire to become an NBA owner. Whether that happens after his NBA career or if he wants to become a player-owner is unclear, but it’s something he’s openly talked about. And as his NBA career enters its next phase — bring glory back to the Lakers — there’s also been some open conversation about James as a future NBA owner.
In other words, James himself has said that sh*t is happening. He spoke to The Athletic’s Joe Vardon about that exact dream and made it very clear that it’s on his to do list.
“I’m going to do that s—,” James told Vardon. And as it turns out, some very important members of his current team are encouraging him to enter the elite world of NBA ownership in due time. Magic Johnson took some time out of lightly tampering with every transaction in the NBA to comment about James as a potential owner and said it would be important for him to buy a team, especially as an affluent African-American businessman.
“Having Michael in Charlotte is great and it’s special, but we need more,” Johnson told The Athletic. “LeBron would be outstanding as the second player to be an owner in our league. We need more African-Americans, for sure, and LeBron would just be fantastic to become the next owner — after he leads the Lakers to an NBA championship, of course.”
Johnson sets his priorities in order here: win in Los Angeles, then retire and buy another team. But as it’s been made clear again and again, James gets what he wants when he sets himself up for success. And while winning in Los Angeles hasn’t been easy, the desire to play with LeBron always makes things easier for teams to attract free agents. Whether that’s the case with him as an owner, however, is still unclear. Just ask Michael Jordan about that.
