LeBron James’ wealth has grown exponentially with each passing year since his NBA debut in 2003. However, he has had the same entourage and been in business with people he has known for decades, primarily his childhood friend Maverick Carter and agent Rich Paul, whom he met as a teenager. The trio’s friendship and business ventures are an incredible story on their own, but it’s one that Andre Iguodala wishes other players would stop trying to replicate.
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On The Mark Jackson Show, the four-time NBA champion claimed that players see James’ relationship with Carter and Paul and the success they have achieved and believe it’s easy to do the same with their friends. However, that’s far from the truth. Iguodala said,
“LeBron is a gift and a curse. I only say curse because in a jokingly way. Every NBA player’s entourage thinks that they should be running the player’s business. I had to remind them like listen, LeBron’s people did it the right way. They did internships, they worked at Nike for free, and they worked for the agency for free. And it’s LeBron James too.
While Paul got his big break into the sports world after becoming James’ agent, he has gone on to achieve plenty of success independent of the four-time NBA champion. He founded Klutch Sports and built it from the ground up and now represents over 200 athletes across several sports, including NBA superstars like Anthony Davis, Draymond Green, and De’Aaron Fox.
Carter and James founded SpringHill Entertainment, which has produced major films such as ‘Space Jam: A New Legacy’ and Netflix’s ‘Hustle.’ The Lakers superstar’s childhood friend runs the company on a day-to-day basis and has turned it into the content juggernaut it is today.
Paul and Carter benefited from their relationship with James. However, they have worked extremely hard over the past two decades and become successful businessmen without the four-time NBA champion holding their hand, which Iguadola believes is often overlooked.
They have also never misused their relationship with the veteran forward, which he respects, and have helped him leverage his on-court exploits to become a savvy businessman off it, which was always his goal.
LeBron’s journey to financial freedom
James went from living in tough financial conditions to becoming a multi-millionaire overnight after he graduated from high school and declared for the NBA draft. However, he did not let his newfound wealth get to his head and instead planned on ensuring that he continued to amass wealth even after hanging up his boots.
He wasn’t only keen on becoming a businessman but wanted to do it his way with the people he trusted to uplift them as well. In an interview with Chase, he opened up about betting on himself and building a legacy. He said,
“You started from the bottom and you created something that you can look at it and say, ‘Wow, we did that. We did that and we own it.’ That’s a really cool thing. And if it doesn’t become successful, then I can only blame myself.”
James’ gamble paid off as he became the first athlete in history to amass a net worth of over a billion dollars before retiring.
