The game of basketball lost one of its greatest players, as Portland Trail Blazers legend, Bill Walton recently passed away at the age of 71. Walton, a man known for his achievements in basketball and sports broadcasting, lived a life that was considered “bold” by most people’s measure, as the Hall of Fame center often spoke his mind, regardless of the consequences.
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During a 2017 appearance on ‘the Road Trippin Show’, the former Celtic was asked about the current crop of players, and how he graded the likes of LeBron James, who at the time was the headman of the defending champions, the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Taking a stand that was distinct from his peers, the former MVP decided to shower LeBron with praise. The Blazers big man pointed to the fact that James was not only an all-time great on the court but also off it.
Walton credited James with changing the culture surrounding the sport, even recognizing LeBron’s influence in the entertainment business as being “unparalleled” in the current generation. Furthering his commendation of James, Walton further added,
” LeBron and what he has done in terms of the business acumen and to be able to start all his own agencies and to generate television programmes and products—you take any athlete in the world today, there is nobody at LeBron’s level in terms of the impact on the entertainment industry.”
For Walton, James had already become the “platinum standard” when doing business as an athlete. Due to his entrepreneurial genius, the former Finals MVP [11977] even put James in the same conversation with all-time greats like Roger Staubach, Magic Johnson, Joe Montana, and Steve Young.
LBJ becomes the first “Active” basketball billionaire
No one’s life story better portrays a rags-to-riches tale than that of LeBron James’s. Growing up, LeBron spent many years crashing from couch to couch, even having to live with his high school coach for an extended period due to financial constraints. Fast forward a few decades, and James is now valued at over 1.2 billion dollars.
The interesting fact about James’s wealth portfolio is that James made less than half of his net worth through basketball salaries. Most of LeBron’s wealth has come through endorsements, investing, and brand building [estimated at over 900 million].
From the looks of it, King James prefers to diversify his investments, as LeBron has not only invested heavily in the sports sector [Nike, Klutch Sports Group, Draft Kings] but also in other ventures spanning outside the scope of basketball and sports [AT&T, Audemars Piguet, Beats Electronics, Calm, Crypto.com, and Taco Bell].
However, the biggest trump card in James’s quiver is his business partners, Maverick Carter and Rich Paul. With a busy basketball schedule, the duo of Carter and Paul handles most of LeBron’s business dealings, which allows LeBron to focus solely on basketball when the NBA season comes around.
