Seattle and Las Vegas have long been rumored as new NBA expansion cities.
But with men’s professional basketball struggling to connect with a frustrated American audience, one of the most forward-thinking owners in pro sports is envisioning an even bigger picture for the league.
LeBron James could be retired by the time the NBA makes a huge expansion move
LeBron James could be retired by the time the NBA makes a huge expansion moveCredit:
“I think what you’re going to see is more and more professional sports, like the NBA, come to Europe,” Chelsea and Los Angeles Dodgers co-owner Todd Boehly said at the Financial Times Business of Football Summit in London.
While Boehly is primarily focused on getting Chelsea back into the Champions League and ushering the Dodgers to another World Series trophy, he’s also a part-owner of a Los Angeles Lakers team that features LeBron James and Luka Doncic.
Boehly’s expansive sports portfolio provides him with a unique global view of the athletic world.
He’s a 51-year-old from Connecticut with an estimated net worth of $8.5 billion.
The 30-team league has long wanted to place a team back in Seattle — the SuperSonics moved to Oklahoma City in 2008 — and eyes Las Vegas as an ideal new destination city.
But there have also been recent hints that the NBA hopes to follow the NFL’s lead and expand its reach overseas.
Boehly has a big vision of where the NBA could go nextCredit: Financial Times Business of Football Summit
He’s also keeping a close eye on Luka Doncic’s new team
Boehly, far right, has a unique view of global sports and ties to several team
Rising star Victor Wembanyama was showcased with regular-season games in Paris earlier this year, before a stunning injury placed the San Antonio Spurs sophomore on the shelf.
The NBA could play future regular-season games in Manchester.
But Boehly is thinking much bigger than just a couple midseason contests in an overseas country.
“I think the NBA is going to be a really interesting thing to watch over the next 20 years,” said Boehly, while discussing the difference dealing with European football and American sports agents.
“Because I think the NBA is going to become much more global, right? And then I think you’re going to see kind of the evolution of that agent market, as the NBA really becomes global.”
Nashville, Vancouver, Kansas City, Mexico City and Montreal have also received interest as potential NBA expansion cities.
But Boehly made it clear that the biggest move for the NBA could be across the pond and beyond.
“I think it’s going to be a fascinating thing to observe,” he said.
The Chelsea co-owner also keeps an eye on college football, which continues to become more pro-like, and has effectively become a minor-league talent pipeline for the NFL.
“The other thing we have now in America, which is just a whole new wild wild west, is what’s going on in college football and college sports generally,” Boehly said.
“The players are now professional athletes, right? So what’s happened?
“Michigan, I believe, they compensated their quarterback with 10 million dollars to play at Michigan. And so this NIL money is changing the landscape of sports. And what it’s really doing is getting more and more sports infrastructure to be built around America.
Chelsea owner Todd Boehly wants radical Premier League overhaul based on $600 billion NFL-Netflix model
“So we’re seeing this massive development of sports infrastructure and you’re seeing kind of teams that are elite teams forming at younger and younger ages.
“Because in America, now high school is really the new college, and college is professional, and people are going to stick around in college longer.”
The NFL will bounce from Brazil and Ireland to Australia and the United Kingdom as it attempts to remain ahead of the global sports race in the streaming age.
The Premier League, thus far, has avoided the temptation of playing regular-season matches in the United States, only giving the USA summer exhibitions.
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