Report: LeBron's manager leading possible upstart to rival NBA

Maverick Carter, LeBron James' business manager, has been enlisted as an advisor by a group of investors looking to form an international basketball league to rival the NBA, sources told ESPN's Shams Charania.

James isn't involved in the endeavor despite his ties to Carter, Charania adds.

The group includes multiple private equity funds. It's seeking to raise $5 billion for the venture.

The league would comprise six men's teams and six women's teams that'd play games around the world, Charania notes.

The investment group may try to tap private equity and sovereign wealth funds to raise the money, Bloomberg reports.

The NBA hasn't faced a significant rival since the American Basketball Association in the 1970s. The ABA eventually went under, and the NBA absorbed four of its teams: the Indiana Pacers, Brooklyn Nets, Denver Nuggets, and San Antonio Spurs.