Jeff Bezos has officially entered the world of major sports ownership, and his first move is already creating obvious questions about whether the NBA could eventually be next.
Bezos is part of 1892 Holdings, the Amit Bhatia-led consortium that has agreed to purchase roughly 30 percent of Liverpool FC from Fenway Sports Group. Facebook co-founder Eduardo Saverin is also part of the investment group. FSG will retain majority ownership and operational control of Liverpool, while the transaction values the Premier League club at more than $7 billion.
Reports have also indicated that the new investors have mechanisms allowing them to increase their stake if FSG later chooses to sell more of the club. Some reporting has placed a potential future valuation around $8 billion. That, however, should not be confused with Bezos personally holding a guaranteed option to buy Liverpool outright. He is one investor within a larger consortium, and FSG has publicly maintained that the minority sale is not an announced exit from the club.
The LeBron James connection makes the story especially intriguing.
James has been financially connected to Liverpool for years. He originally acquired a small direct stake in the club in 2011 before later converting that interest into an ownership position in Fenway Sports Group. That means Bezos and James are now connected indirectly through the same Liverpool ownership ecosystem, but there is no public evidence that the two have formed a separate sports-investment partnership or are currently preparing a joint NBA bid.
And one important part of the speculation has changed.
James spent years openly talking about wanting to own an NBA franchise, particularly in Las Vegas. As recently as 2022, he publicly told commissioner Adam Silver that he wanted a team there.
But in March 2026, when asked whether NBA ownership still interested him, James answered: “Not at all.” That reversal came as the potential price of expansion had risen dramatically.
The NBA, meanwhile, has moved much closer to expansion. Its Board of Governors formally authorized exploration of adding teams in Seattle and Las Vegas, and Silver said in July that owners hope to make a decision on the league’s next expansion by the end of 2026. Multiple ownership groups have already been presenting financing and arena plans in both markets.
That makes Bezos an obvious name to watch, particularly in Seattle.
He founded Amazon there, retains deep connections to the region and possesses financial resources that would put him among the strongest potential principal owners in professional sports. But there is currently no confirmation that Seattle has been reserved for Bezos, that he is leading a bid, or that the cost of a potential franchise has discouraged him from pursuing one.
Amazon’s relationship with the NBA adds another layer, although it does not establish ownership intent. Prime Video began carrying NBA games under the league’s new 11-year media agreement, which runs through the 2035-36 season.
The Liverpool transaction therefore provides something more concrete than previous Bezos sports rumors: proof that he is now willing to put significant capital into an elite franchise.
Whether that develops into a broader portfolio resembling the multi-team sports empires built by groups such as Kroenke Sports & Entertainment remains speculation.
For now, the facts are simpler.
Bezos has entered sports ownership. The NBA is actively studying expansion in Seattle and Las Vegas. LeBron has longstanding ties to the same Liverpool ownership structure and a history of NBA ownership ambitions, although he recently publicly backed away from them.
Put those pieces together and an NBA future for Bezos is certainly conceivable.
But until an actual ownership group or bid emerges, “Bezos to the NBA” remains an intriguing possibility rather than the next confirmed deal.
