Saudi Arabia’s sporting landscape has become more dynamic than ever. Their soccer scene took flight when Cristiano Ronaldo arrived. Neymar and others followed suit too, making Saudi Arabia’s domestic soccer the front and center of the world game’s attention. With an unbelievable amount of green to nab these superstars, the nation is emerging as a heavyweight in sports. In fact, many NBA players have jokingly said they are tempted to take the money, which makes LeBron James‘s visit to Saudi Arabia somewhat suspect.

With Giannis Antetokounmpo joking about being a Kylian Mbappe lookalike when news broke that the Frenchman was offered a whopping 776 Million Dollars for one year, the prospect of playing in Saudi Arabia has suddenly become very tempting. Case in point: the four-time NBA champion was recently spotted shooting some hoops with Saudi colors in the capital city of Riyadh.

LeBron James goes to Saudi Arabia

LeBron had recently cracked a joke in the form of a tweet in July, vying for signing a one-year deal to play in Saudi Arabia. With a GIF featuring Tom Hanks sprinting in his Forrest Gump character, James captioned, “Me headed to Saudi when they call @RichPaul4 [Rich Paul] & @mavcarter [Maverick Carter] for that 1 year deal!”

In another electric move for the nation, the Saudi Arabia national basketball team, KSA Basketball, showcased James, who covered an 8000+ miles trip from the USA to the nation, during a basketball camp. There is also a poster of the Ministry of Sport, with “Saudi Welcome to Arabia” printed across in huge font. This outing for the champion player is a part of the “Visit Saudi” campaign, which promotes tourism to the Middle Eastern country.

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In the photo, the Lakers forward is heading toward the area where a couple of basketballs are lying while in the background, there are young people. As is evident from the post caption, “LeBron James in Riyadh,” he was spotted at the AZM Academy wherein Saudi prospects played a game of basketball.

This is a huge boost for the Saudi Arabian basketball scene. Having a global name like the King coming in contact with young hoopers can massively boost their morale. It will make for some lessons that are rare. Since this is a developing story, more insights will add to the reasons as to why he is there and what the goal is for both parties. 

With the way, the Saudi Arabian government is spending money on sports, the perks can be massive. Is the wind changing its way to a desert storm?

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Will it be a shocker if LBJ moves to Saudi Arabia?

It began with the LIV Golf saga with big-time golfers taking their talents to the Middle Eastern powerhouse. Then the Saudi Arabian Football League welcomed Cristiano Ronaldo who has contributed to their revenue a lot.

This was of course a huge deal. Then Neymar’s arrival just accelerated the process of growth to another level. With the way these stalwarts are moving, wouldn’t LeBron James be interested in a contract that can increase his current value by miles?

He has quipped that he’d have made the move if a $776 Million like Mbappe arrived at his shore. And why not? The billionaire has nothing left to prove in the NBA, he is a multiple-time champion, Finals MVP, Regular Season MVP, and whatnot! If that kind of money is given to him then his move will make a lot of sense.  

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