Having Dreams of Owning an NBA Team, LeBron James Emphatically Shuts Down a Post-Retirement Avenue

LeBron James is a busy, busy man. He recently finished his 22nd season in the NBA, tying Vince Carter’s record, he’s in the midst of building a megamansion in Beverly Hills, and he has a wife and three kids to keep him busy when he’s off the court, to say nothing of his numerous business and philanthropic ventures.

Nobody knows just how long LeBron plans on playing, but one thing for certain is that whenever he does finally decide to hang his sneakers up, there’ll be plenty to keep him occupied. Unlike many players, though, one post-playing avenue he has no interest in whatsoever is coaching.

LeBron and his Mind the Game cohost Steve Nash fielded mailbag questions on the latest episode, and they finished with one from a listener named Alfonso Taylor. “LeBron, what team would you coach if you became a coach?” he asked.

Nash, who had an ill-fated coaching stint with the Brooklyn Nets, hilariously said, “Let me just stop that one right now and say, ‘Please don’t coach.'” LeBron shook his head and said, “There’s no way, there’s no way, guys. Alfonso Taylor, appreciate you for the kind question, but it ain’t happening. No team. Zero chance.”

LeBron has been described as a “coach on the court” for his high basketball IQ and the way he’s able to control the game, not to mention the long string of figurehead coaches who haven’t lasted more than a season or two with him.

James has too much going on to commit to coaching. If the rumors are true, however, the real reason he has no interest is that he has even bigger plans post-retirement. Bloomberg reported back in December that the Fenway Sports Group, which owns the Boston Red Sox, Pittsburgh Penguins and Liverpool FC, has “expressed interest in owning an NBA franchise in Las Vegas.”

LeBron has been a minority owner of Liverpool since 2011, and a stakeholder in Fenway Sports Group since 2021. He’s also one of the richest athletes in the world. Funny enough, if you look at his financial statements, he’s a shoe salesman who happens to play basketball, not the other way around. Owning an NBA team would be a logical step once he’s done playing.

It’s an open secret in the league that the NBA plans to expand to Vegas and Seattle in the near future, and LeBron has spoken openly about wanting to become the owner and face of the Vegas franchise. League rules prohibit an active player from being an owner, but whenever LeBron calls it a career, that would no longer be a problem.

Whether LeBron and his business partners are able to lock down an expansion team in Vegas or not, his emphatic answer in the podcast leaves no doubt about where he stands on coaching.