James has made been very public about his goal of one day owning an NBA team. He's even targeted a city: Las Vegas. He's publicly lobbied for control of an expansion franchise in the desert for years, and for years, his odds of getting that team looked very strong. But two things have changed of late, and neither work in his favor.

Los Angeles Lakers’ icon LeBron James has been widely linked to a proposed international basketball league that reportedly is backed by $5 billion in private capital and aims to challenge the NBA. Denver Nuggets star Nikola Jokic too has been linked to the project.