LeBron James has expressed his desire to own a Las Vegas NBA expansion team, and he has the financial backing of his business partner Gerry Cardinale.

James recently reiterated his desire to one day own an NBA team in Las Vegas, a city that has experienced immense success as the host city of major league sports teams, including the NFL's Las Vegas Raiders and the NHL's Las Vegas Golden Knights.

During the 2023 Las Vegas NBA Summer League, NBA commissioner Adam Silver spoke about the possibility of the league adding expansion teams. He said that the NBA would consider doing so after its current media rights deal expires in 2025.

Cardinale, the founder of RedBird Capital Partners, confirmed that he is interested in assisting James in his bid to land a future Las Vegas NBA expansion team.

"We're looking at bringing an NBA expansion team in partnership with LeBron and Fenway Sports Group," Cardinale said. "We started this project three years ago."

James and RedBird are partners in Fenway Sports Group, an "American multinational sports holding conglomerate." The group owns the MLB's Boston Red Sox, the NHL's Pittsburgh Penguins and the Premier League's Liverpool FC.

According to Cardinale, they would have to shell out at least $5.5 billion to secure a Las Vegas expansion team.

"The price talk on an NBA team three years ago was $3 billion. The price talk today on an NBA expansion team is $5.5 billion to $6 billion," Cardinale said.

It remains to be seen if LeBron James and Co. will be able to get a deal done. However, it's clear that their interest is legitimate.