LeBron James Says He Will Own NBA Team After Retirement

Cleveland Cavaliers superstar LeBron James once again confirmed his plans to one day be an NBA owner, according to Ken Berger of The Athletic.

"I will own a team someday," James told Berger. "That's my next thing."

He added: "Why do I want to own team? I think it'll be cool. I'll stay part of the game and still be able to put people in positions of power. I've always loved that, putting people in a position of power to feel like they can make a change and make things happen."

James also noted that he would continue to work with his current business partners, Maverick Carter and Randy Mims, along with agent Rich Paul, were he to own a team.

It isn't the first time James has spoken about his future ownership plans. In Aug. 2016, he told the Uninterrupted podcast Open Run about his desire to one day hold a front-office position (h/t Joe Vardon of Cleveland.com):

"I feel like my brain as far as the game of basketball is unique and I would love to continue to give my knowledge to the game. And I would love to be a part of a franchise, if not at the top. My dream is to actually own a team and I don't need to have fully hands on. If I'm fortunate enough to own a team, then I'm going to hire the best GM and president that I can.

"But I have a feel like I have a good eye for not only talent, because we all see a lot of talent, but the things that make the talent, the chemistry, what type of guy he is, his work ethic, his passion, the basketball IQ side of things, because talent only goes so far."

James' post-career aspirations and his business sense have already become a major part of his legacy.

As Pablo Torre outlined in a piece for ESPN the Magazine in Feb. 2017, "Indeed, more than a dozen sources directly familiar with SpringHill, including rival producers, filmmakers and media executives, declare LeBron James, without debate, the most powerful athlete in entertainment today."

James is a business partner in the SpringHill Entertainment production company, which will likely be his biggest post-basketball project.

"LeBron and I have always been interested in the long game," noted Carter, the head of SpringHill Entertainment. "And the long game here is to build a media company. To really, truly build a media company."

That may be the first half of the long game. For James, however, owning an NBA team would appear to be the second half.