• Loading stock data...
Thursday, July 31, 2025
Tuned In returns to NYC on September 16. Hear from the biggest names in sports media. Click here to get your spot
exclusive
Leagues

LeBron Boat Meeting in France With Jokić Agent Was About New League

The mysterious aquatic meeting between LeBron James, Maverick Carter, and Miško Ražnatović was about plans for a new global basketball league backed by Carter.

LeBron James
Christopher Hanewinckel-Imagn Images

The mysterious boat meeting last week in France between LeBron James, his business partner Maverick Carter, and Nikola Jokić’s European agent was about the planned international basketball league being spearheaded by Carter, multiple sources tell Front Office Sports.

The photo, posted to Instagram over the weekend by Jokić’s European agent Miško Ražnatović, caused speculation about whether the trio was talking about James joining the Nuggets or Jokić joining the Lakers. 

Sources familiar with the situation tell FOS it was not about the Nuggets or Lakers.

Eurohoops.net first reported the Carter-backed league was the “possible reason” for the meeting.

The caption of the post—which listed Saint Tropez, France as its location—teased, “The summer of 2025 is the perfect time to make big plans for the fall of 2026.” 

Bloomberg first reported about the upcoming league, writing in January that a group of investors advised by Carter was seeking to raise $5 billion. The league’s plan is to have a touring model with six men’s and six women’s teams playing in eight cities. FOS reported at the time that Carter was spearheading the effort and that James was not a part of it

Ražnatović is a power player in European basketball. His BeoBasket agency—based in Belgrade, Serbia—has a partnership with Jokić’s American agency, Excel Sports Management, and has represented countless well-known European players, including Clippers center Ivica Zubac.

The upstart league scored funding from investors including the Singapore government, SC Holdings, Riyadh’s Public Investment Fund, UBS, Skype founder Geoff Prentice, and former Facebook executive Grady Burnett, the Financial Times reported in February. 

FT also reported that the league expects to be a “full-time” responsibility, unlike the upstart women’s league Unrivaled, where the scheduling allows players to participate in both the new league and the WNBA. That means NBA players would not be able to play in both. 

Like Unrivaled, players are expected to receive equity in the Carter-backed league. Current NBA rules bar players from having ownership stakes in teams, a rule Celtics star Jaylen Brown has said he would like to see changed.

Carter’s league has been compared to LIV Golf or Formula One, where teams would play in one city for a week or weekend before moving to another. 

The NBA itself is also considering a new league in Europe. Commissioner Adam Silver said in March that the NBA is “ready to go to the next stage” and explore a new league in Europe with FIBA, the global governing body for basketball, as partners. But the NBA would likely have teams in European and U.K. cities, which would be a different format than Carter’s. 

Silver and NBA deputy commissioner Mark Tatum met in London on Wednesday with U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer as they seek out “potential stakeholders in a new NBA Europe league,” Marc Stein reported on Wednesday. The NBA is taking steps as it explores the new league, including announcing Wednesday that the Grizzlies and Magic will play two regular-season games in Europe in January 2026, one in Berlin and a second in London.

EuroLeague CEO Paulius Motiejūnas is not in favor of a new NBA league. In a Tuesday Q&A with The Athletic, he talked about a meeting held earlier this year between the NBA and the EuroLeague, saying, “We said to them, like we said publicly, we don’t believe that the new league is something that would help the market.”

Ražnatović and Carter did not respond to requests for comment.

Linkedin
Whatsapp
Copy Link
Link Copied
Link Copied

What to Read

Jul 15, 2025; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark (22) reacts to the crowd as they take on the Connecticut Sun in the first quarter at TD Garden.

WNBA Viewership Up Across All Networks Compared to 2024

Non-Fever games are up 37% compared to the full 2024 season.
Marcus Morris

Marcus Morris Denies Fraud, Blames Mixup for $260K Casino Debt Arrest

Morris made roughly $107 million across 13 NBA seasons.
Moe Wagner

NBA Adding European Games As It Explores New League

The Magic and Grizzlies will play in Berlin and London in January 2026. 

Ex-NBPA Director Defends Two-Apron System: ‘There’s No Hard Cap’

The NBA’s two-apron system started in the 2023–24 season.

Featured Today

Las Vegas sign

College Sports Embracing Vegas After Years of Cold Shoulder

The Big Ten became the latest newcomer to Sin City.
2000, Jupiter, FL, USA; FILE PHOTO; Montreal Expos pitcher Hideki Irabu in action on the mound against the New York Mets at Roger Dean Stadium during Spring Training
July 28, 2025

Dead Sports Franchises Are Alive and Well on Twitter

The Expos, Sonics, and Whalers have active social media accounts.
Limited Hype
July 27, 2025

Sneaker Reselling Was Once Easy Money. Success Is Now Complicated

Vendors need to evolve what they’re selling and how they do it.
HAPPY GILMORE 2. BTS - (L to R) Adam Sandler as Happy Gilmore and Rory McIlroy as himself on the set of Happy Gilmore2.
July 26, 2025

‘Cool As Hell’: How ‘Happy Gilmore 2’ Hooked Golf’s Top Stars

The process was “cool as hell,” Adam Sandler tells FOS.
Mike Repole
breaking

Billionaire Mike Repole Taking Ownership Stake In UFL

Repole is the co-founder of Vitamin Water and Body Armor. 
Jul 27, 2025; Washington, D.C., USA; Leylah Fernandez (CAN) celebrates with the championship trophy after her match against Anna Kalinskaya (not pictured) in the women's singles final of the Mubadala Citi DC Open at Rock Creek Park Tennis Center.
July 29, 2025

DC Open Increases Women’s Purse by 39%, Keeps 2027 Target for Equal..

DC Open chairman Mark Ein spoke to Front Office Sports.
July 29, 2025

How Sports Leagues Are Responding to NFL Headquarters Shooting

The building housing the NFL headquarters was barricaded and closed Tuesday.
Sponsored

Game On: Portfolio Players Stories, Brought to You by E*TRADE from Morgan Stanley

Dealmaker Jeffrey Kaplan maps the evolution of sports as an asset class
July 29, 2025

Golf Major Bringing Biggest Women’s Sporting Event to Wales

Royal Porthcawl Golf Club is hosting the AIG Women’s Open.
NYPD
July 29, 2025

Shooter at NFL Building Targeted League Over Head Injuries

The gunman shot one league employee in the building lobby.
July 29, 2025

Top MLS Voices Advocate for International Schedule Change

The league is still weighing a move to align with international soccer.
July 28, 2025

NYC Shooter Targeted NFL HQ, Went to Wrong Floor

NFL employees were told to shelter in place during the shooting.