LeBron's Las Vegas legacy: Lakers icon James 'is in pole position to land NBA expansion club in the coming years'... when his 17-year-old son Bronny could be in the league!

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LeBron James' path to the NBA owner's box may be getting shorter.

The Los Angeles Lakers forward is apparently in 'pole position' to land a rumored expansion franchise in Las Vegas, according to veteran NBA reporter Ric Bucher.

As he explained on his podcast, Bucher was told by league sources that expansion clubs in Las Vegas and Seattle could pop up in 2025, after the NBA's current media contracts expire. James would be 40 at the time, an age when he could still be playing, but NBA rules prohibit anyone on a team roster from owning a stake in that club.

His eldest son, Bronny, could be making his NBA debut by the 2024-25 season, or choose to wait a year in hopes of being drafted by an expansion franchise owned by his father.

James has repeatedly said he hopes to play with Bronny, who is a highly recruited junior at LA's Sierra Canyon School. Furthermore, James has also professed an interest in owning a Vegas-based NBA franchise.

'I wanna own a team,' James said in a clip from his HBO television show 'The in June. 'Yeah, I want a team...I want a, yeah, I want a team in Vegas. Yeah, I want the team in Vegas.'

Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James is rumored to be a candidate to buy an NBA expansion franchise based in Las Vegas in the coming years, when his 17-year-old son Bronny (near left) could be in the league. Of course, James is already a partner in the Fenway Sports Group, meaning he has minority stakes in several pro sports team through the firm, including MLB's Boston Red Sox, the NHL's Pittsburgh Penguins, a NASCAR team, and Liverpool FC (right), which he originally invested with back in 2011

Las Vegas boasts teams in the NFL (Raiders), WNBA (Aces) and NHL (Golden Knights), while Seattle had one of the NBA's most ferocious fanbases before the SuperSonics moved to Oklahoma City to become the Thunder. T-Mobile Arena (pictured) could host NBA games

Of course, James is already a partner in the Fenway Sports Group, meaning he has minority stakes in several pro sports team through the firm, including MLB's Boston Red Sox, the NHL's Pittsburgh Penguins, a NASCAR team, and Liverpool FC, which he originally invested with back in 2011.

James recently became the second athlete to become a billionaire, following fellow NBA legend Michael Jordan, according to Forbes, although James did it as an active player.

Jordan, 59, was not valued at $1billion until 2014, 11 years after he'd retired from basketball and before he became the Charlotte Hornets' owner.

Las Vegas and Seattle have reportedly been listed at the NBA's next locations for the league's planned expansion in 2024. However, NBA Commission Adam Silver denied these rumors earlier this summer.

'As I said before, at some point, this league invariably will expand, but it's not at this moment that we are discussing it,' Silver said ahead of Games 1 of the NBA Finals.

Silver, though, understands why both cities would be strong contenders for the league's expansion rights. Las Vegas currently boasts teams in the NFL (Raiders), WNBA (Aces) and NHL (Golden Knights),while Seattle had one of the NBA's most ferocious fanbases before the SuperSonics moved to Oklahoma City to become the Thunder.

'Those are wonderful markets,' Silver said. 'Again, as I've said before, we were in Seattle. I'm sorry we are no longer there. We have a WNBA team in Seattle in an almost brand-new building that's doing spectacular. And Las Vegas, where will be at our Summer League in July, has shown itself to be a great sports market as well.'

The NBA has no current plans to add any expansion teams, but Silver described that scenario as 'inevitable' last year.

A league spokesman at the time cautioned to DailyMail.com that the NBA was not yet looking to add additional teams. The price of an expansion franchise is expected to be at least $2.5 billion – and possibly much more.

And although Las Vegas already has T-Mobile Arena, where the Golden Knights play, there's been talk of another NBA-centric arena on the horizon.

The Oak View Group, an international stadium developer, announced plans in March to build a $3 billion sports and entertainment district just south of the Strip after acquiring 25 acres from the city of Las Vegas. The proposed 20,000-seat arena will cost close to $1 billion and is expected to be privately funded, an OVG spokesman told DailyMail.com.

For comparison, T-Mobile Arena was finished in 2016 at a cost of $375 million in private funding. Meanwhile Allegiant Stadium, home of the NFL's Raiders, was finished for $1.9 billion in 2020, thanks to $750 million in public funds from municipal bonds and hotel taxes.

The project is expected to break ground next year just 10 minutes away from the Las Vegas Strip. The proposed arena will be adjacent to Interstates 15 and 215, and close to a new high-speed rail station. The proposed $1 billion arena should be completed by 2025 at the earliest

For comparison, the city's T-Mobile arena (pictured) was finished for the NHL's Vegas Golden Knights in 2016 at a cost of $375 million in private funding

The executive who is spearheading the project, Tim Leiweke, said he hopes the project will help bring a team to Sin City - but added that he knows there are 'no guarantees.'

'Las Vegas is the entertainment capital and so what we have to build is the best we have ever built for Las Vegas,' OVG chief executive officer Tim Leiweke told CNBC.

'Should the NBA decide to come and by the way, there's no certainty or no guarantees that the NBA is ever coming to Vegas, but should they come, we certainly will be NBA ready.'

OVG should break ground next year just 10 minutes away from the Las Vegas Strip. The proposed arena will be adjacent to Interstates 15 and 215, and close to a new high-speed rail station. It should be completed by 2025 at the earliest.

James is only the second-highest compensated athlete in the world between salary and endorsements with $121.2million, beaten out by PSG and Argentina superstar Lionel Messi, who raked in $130million. However, the investment game is where LeBron has made enough money to dwarf the likes of Tiger Woods, Messi, Magic Johnson and Floyd Mayweather