Nikola Jokic’s longtime agent, Misko Raznatovic, has revealed that he now holds an official consultant position in LeBron James’ planned international basketball league, a project designed to compete with the NBA on a global stage.
Speaking on the 6.75 Range podcast, Raznatovic detailed how the meeting with James came together and why investors turned to him for advice. “They are planning, a certain group of investors, classic business, to create a new league that would somehow also compete with the NBA,” he said, via Basketball Network. “They don’t want it to be a U.S. league; they want it to have a European flavor, so to speak. And when they started working on it, everyone told them to call me.”
Raznatovic, who represents Jokic as well as Ivica Zubac, Goga Bitadze, Nikola Jovic, and Nikola Topic, explained that Maverick Carter, James’ longtime business partner, reached out to formalize his role. “I spoke a few times with Maverick Carter, where I got an official role as a consultant,” Raznatovic noted. “He said it would be best to meet for lunch on a boat where LeBron would also attend.”
The yacht meeting in St. Tropez, which surfaced online last month in a viral photo, initially triggered speculation about possible NBA roster moves. Instead, Raznatovic confirmed it was centered on shaping the framework of the new league. “We talked a lot about the new league, how it would be built and what would be done,” he said. “We talked for a long time the next day and he really surprised me. Very approachable and cool. Lots of questions about European basketball, how they travel, how many games are played, just a nice basketball talk without any arrogance.”
According to Front Office Sports, Carter is leading efforts to raise $5 billion to launch what has been referred to as the International Basketball League. The project envisions six men’s and six women’s teams playing in eight cities worldwide, with the format modeled after Formula 1’s global circuit.
High-profile investors such as Skype co-founder Geoff Prentice, former Facebook executive Grady Burnett, and SC Holdings partners Jason Stein and Daniel Haimovic are reportedly backing the plan. The group is courting sovereign wealth funds and private equity firms to secure funding before the league’s projected debut in the fall of 2026.
James’ presence provides significant credibility to the effort, while Raznatovic’s connections in Europe offer critical insight into how the league could operate outside the NBA and FIBA structures.
“I enjoyed it, and I never expected to find myself on a boat with LeBron James,” Raznatovic admitted. His comments underscore how seriously the group is pursuing the venture and the central role Europe is expected to play in its foundation.
