How present will LeBron really be in the NBA once he retires?
Posted: Sat Aug 3, 2024 8:07 pm
Kobe's everlasting legacy came from the way he affected the next generation through his mentorship and leadership both on and off the court. One of the biggest tragedies to lose him, but he was set to always have a presence molding the future generations and now we will never have it.
LeBron is very different in terms of personality, on the other hand. LeBron is much less serious than Kobe for the most part, he doesn't necessarily push out some villainous hatred and marriage to the game. LeBron is more "one of the guys" when it comes to the way his teams function with him on it. In a lot of ways LeBron acts like a giant kid when he is with his teammates despite being a 40 year old man. You would never hear a story of LeBron punching a teammate or showing up to prove a point in practice. He's more just a player that works hard, and has the best genetics and has accomplished 99.99% of what he could do.
Some players retire and they end up the media. Kobe did not seem to be planning that, but Jordan did spend years in the media and in an NBA FO. He eventually became an owner of a franchise but did not have the same public persona that people really want to pretend he had. Yes, Jordan did have say on the roster and did show up to practices and games. But he was not necessarily involved in NBA media, was not being the face of the franchise, was not on the floor often with the players, etc.
Charles Barkley and Shaq have obviously gone on to have great media careers post retirement and are arguably more famous now than when they were playing.
On the other hand guys like Tim Duncan, Patrick Ewing, Kevin Garnett, etc. go on to mostly stay in their circle and live their lives with light basketball involvement.
So with that said, LeBron is obviously on the way out, but I have a bold prediction for LeBron's end.
LeBron will only retire when the NBA announces expansion and he will do so to become a leader for an investment group with that franchise.
LeBron wants to own an NBA team, he wants to invest, the NBA will reserve a seat for their coveted player to be an owner of a new franchise in Vegas. They will announce it and LeBron will announce his retirement shortly after.
LeBron will be hands off in terms of his involvement in the NBA. One thing about LeBron is he is a bit more selfish in terms of his off the court success. You're part of LeBron's circle. He's the kind of person that keeps a tight knit group as evidenced the by the way Klutch operates, regularly funneling their clients into LeBron's teams. Klutch and LeBron will be the only thing that continues to operate closely between the two. LeBron will be recruiting players to sign with Klutch. LeBron will not be trying to help players into the NBA or doing anything with the future generation in like coaching and mentorship. He will be looking to enhance his business aspects. Do not be surprised if Klutch ends up representing almost everyone that ends up on LeBron's franchise. Is it a conflict of interest? Maybe. Yet Agents and FOs seem to intersect more often than not.
LeBron will hardly be involved in the media. He isn't signing some deal like Tom Brady to commentate. He doesn't have the personality for a desk show BUT ALSO, LeBron will obviously want to maintain and grow his brand with the barbershop show and because of this he will limit himself to exclusively being on that show and will bring someone like Draymond to help grow it.
Again, this is the difference I see with LeBron post retirement. He is not going to give back to the NBA, he is going to continue to grow his own empire with the power the NBA gave him. You could say being a team owner is "giving back" but he will 100% do so for his own interests.
So I think LeBron will not be overly involved in the "good" of the NBA. He won't be giving interviews to the little guys, he won't ever sit and coach a team. Instead LeBron will be the businessman he's always been looking to grow his brand and try and rival Jordan in terms of what Jordan has off the court too.