LeBron James isn’t going to be done playing anytime soon, but he’s already thinking about what he wants to do after his playing days are over. He’s talked in the past about wanting to follow in Michael Jordan’s footsteps, and if he gets the opportunity, he might do something Jordan has already done: bought an NBA team. In an interview on the Open Run podcast (which has been acquired by James’ Uninterrupted platform), he said he wants to be an owner at some point, and he thinks he’d be a good GM (transcription via Joe Vardon of Cleveland.com).
James is right about one thing: he’s one of the smartest players the game has ever seen. Ex-players have a mixed track record as executives, but few players in history know the game as well as James does. And like Jordan, he’ll have the money to buy a team by the time he’s done playing.
“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,” James 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.”
James is right about one thing: he’s one of the smartest players the game has ever seen. Ex-players have a mixed track record as executives, but few players in history know the game as well as James does. And like Jordan, he’ll have the money to buy a team by the time he’s done playing.
