About Boardroom

Boardroom is a sports, media and entertainment brand co-founded by Kevin Durant and Rich Kleiman and focused on the intersection of sports and entertainment. Boardroom’s flagship media arm features premium video/audio, editorial, daily and weekly newsletters, showcasing how athletes, executives, musicians and creators are moving the business world forward. Boardroom’s ecosystem encompasses B2B events and experiences (such as its renowned NBA and WNBA All-Star events) as well as ticketed conferences such as Game Plan in partnership with CNBC. Our advisory arm serves to consult and connect athletes, brands and executives with our broader network and initiatives.

Recent film and TV projects also under the Boardroom umbrella include the Academy Award-winning Two Distant Strangers (Netflix), the critically acclaimed scripted series SWAGGER (Apple TV+) and Emmy-nominated documentary NYC Point Gods (Showtime).

Boardroom’s sister company, Boardroom Sports Holdings, features investments in emerging sports teams and leagues, including the Major League Pickleball team, the Brooklyn Aces, NWSL champions Gotham FC, and MLS’ Philadelphia Union.

All Rights Reserved. 2022.

LeBron James Readies to Rule the Metaverse

Last Updated: July 20, 2023
LeBron James filed for two sets of trademarks for use on digital assets from virtual footwear to basketball courts in the metaverse.

This article has been updated to reflect new filings, which were submitted on April 5.

LeBron James has his hands in so many business ventures off the court that it’s sometimes tough to keep track (though it’s our job to keep track, so we make it work). Although the Lakers’ season came to an early end on April 5 as they were eliminated from the playoffs, James and his lawyers ensured he was prepared to keep himself busy in the off-season.

Coming off recent news that James’ museum will open in his hometown of Akron, Ohio next year, LeBron’s legacy will now also live on in the metaverse.

Stay Ahead of the Game, Get Our Newsletters

Subscribe for the biggest stories in the business of sports and entertainment, daily.

As noted by attorney Josh Gerben of Gerben Intellectual Property, James filed four new trademark applications on March 4 indicating growing ambitions in the metaverse. LBJ submitted two sets of trademark applications for the following:

March 9

  • LeBron
  • King James,
  • Chosen1
  • LeBron James

April 5

  • Strive for Greatness
  • Striving 4 Greatness
  • Strive 4 Greatness
  • Striving for Greatness

Each filing was introduced with the assistance of lawyer Howard Shire from the law firm Troutman Pepper. LeBron is looking to trademark his names for downloadable digital assets including digital collectibles, digital tokens, and NFTs featuring virtual goods. He may try to sell branded meta merch like “footwear, clothing, swimwear, headwear, bags, backpacks, sports equipment, sporting goods, toys, home furnishings, posters, trading cards, headphones, phones, video games, watches, jewelry, accessories, and home decor.”

On the digital collectibles side, James’ prospective metaverse trademarks will cover NFTs that include basketball players, records, stats, images, videos, and virtual experiences. The filings also indicate that there will soon be a website for everything LeBron in the metaverse, which may include conducting and hosting events online and in VR. Per the filings, that may come in the form of “virtual basketball courts, gyms, and recreational facilities for playing sports in the metaverse and virtual worlds.”

Stay Ahead of the Game, Get Our Newsletters

Subscribe for the biggest stories in the business of sports and entertainment, daily.

Additionally, the filings include an online marketplace for buyers and sellers of downloadable digital products that are authenticated by non-fungible tokens.

You can pretty much see LeBron everywhere, including on your favorite shoes and other IRL apparel, on commercials for brands like Sprite, and on his Uninterrupted TV show The Shop, which is currently in the midst of its fifth season. As the Lakers begin to eye what comes next, it sure looks like we’ll be seeing a whole lot of the best player of our generation in the metaverse. And like he’s dominated everywhere else, expect James to thrive in Web3.

Shlomo Sprung

Shlomo Sprung is a Senior Staff Writer at Boardroom. He has more than a decade of experience in journalism, with past work appearing in Forbes, MLB.com, Awful Announcing, and The Sporting News. He graduated from the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism in 2011, and his Twitter and Spotify addictions are well under control. Just ask him.

About The Author
Shlomo Sprung
Shlomo Sprung
Shlomo Sprung is a Senior Staff Writer at Boardroom. He has more than a decade of experience in journalism, with past work appearing in Forbes, MLB.com, Awful Announcing, and The Sporting News. He graduated from the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism in 2011, and his Twitter and Spotify addictions are well under control. Just ask him.