LeBron James is only 31, so he still has a lot of life left in his NBA career. His new $100 million contract will likely keep him in Cleveland with the Cavaliers for the next three seasons, and once that contract is over, there’s a good chance he’ll sign another one for another few years (and maybe bring the "Brotherhood" together when he does it?). Retirement isn’t a word that LeBron should be thinking about right now.
But LeBron is beginning the process of preparing himself for life after basketball, and according to him, it will feature—no surprise here—more basketball. One day, he won’t be able to play anymore, but during an appearance on the "Open Run" podcast hosted by Jesse Williams and Stefan Marolachakis, LeBron admitted that his "dream" is to own an NBA team like Michael Jordan once he’s retired.
"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," he said. "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."
LeBron also touched on Michael Jordan's playing career, and aside from naming MJ as one of his biggest influences, also suggested that MJ might get too much credit for the Bulls titles back in the day. "I don't think Michael ever played a game 7 in the Finals and people will say he was able to close it out early and they act like he just did it all on his own," LeBron said. "They forget things like the shot by Paxson on the left wing." While it might come off as shade, it more sounded like he was saying that other role players on the Bulls just didn't get enough credit.Â
LeBron is apparently serious about this, too, because during a separate interview with Rachel Nichols that is scheduled to air on Thursday on Good Morning America and SportsCenter, he also touched on the idea of owning an NBA team.
"One thing I do know, I do wanna stay in basketball," he told Nichols during their one-on-one interview. "I would love to be a part of a franchise. And if I’m fortunate enough financially to have my own team, that would be awesome. That would be great."
More on the interview with Nichols when it airs, but in the meantime, you can check out the "Open Run" podcast here. Outside of talking about owning a team, LeBron also discusses Kevin Love not playing up to his standards at times in the NBA Finals, watching Eddie Murphy’s Raw with his wife in the middle of the Finals to relax, and leaving a legacy that involves more than just basketball.
