NBA Owners Reportedly Have Growing Saudi Arabia Concern

A Saudi-backed professional basketball league appears to have NBA owners' antennas up, according to The Ringer's Bill Simmons.

On the latest episode of the sports media founder's podcast, Simmons discussed the idea of the Saudi Arabian league rumored to be partnered with LeBron James' right-hand man Maverick Carter.

Adding that he believes Carter's focus has shifted from potentially owning an expansion team in Vegas to possibly forming a rival league to take on the Association.

"They have got a [expletive] load of money for this and a plan," Simmons explained. "And everything I've heard is that it's kind of real. I don't know if they have all the money yet, but they have enough that — could you form a six-team league and convince five, six, seven stars to basically jump when their contracts [are up]?"

Simmons also talked about the idea of the upstart league going hard after Lakers superstar Luka Doncic as early as next year.

And while it sounds like it could be far-fetched, we've seen how the Middle Eastern country's money has turned sports like golf and soccer on their heads.

"Could this be a LIV situation?" Simmons asked. "What does he care? He doesn't have any loyalty to the NBA. He just got traded. Could you build a league and have like six, seven Luka-type guys? 'Hey Luka, here's a hundred million dollars a year, you're playing a 35-game season and you're gonna be the face or one of the faces of this league.'