Bob Iger is said to be eyeing a new Magic Kingdom in Las Vegas — an NBA franchise.
The former Disney boss — and Thrive Capital founder Josh Kushner, brother of President Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner — have enlisted bankers as they weigh a push for a majority stake in a potential Las Vegas expansion team, Bloomberg reported Monday, citing people familiar with the private talks.
No bid price has been disclosed, and the NBA has not yet approved a Las Vegas franchise.
The possible play would run through Thrive Eternal, Kushner’s new long-term investment vehicle aimed at buying stakes in sports teams, cultural brands and other assets built to outlast the tech cycle, according to the report.
Iger rejoined Thrive as an adviser after stepping down as CEO of Disney in March.
The reported pursuit would mark another high-profile ownership bid in what has quickly become a crowded race for one of the most coveted prizes in professional sports ownership.
The NBA’s Board of Governors voted in March to formally study expansion in Las Vegas and Seattle, with Commissioner Adam Silver saying the league hopes to determine by the end of the year whether to add one franchise, two franchises or none at all.
Las Vegas has long been viewed as the leading contender after evolving into one of the NBA’s showcase destinations.
The city hosts the league’s annual Summer League, staged the NBA Cup’s semifinal and championship games and already has an NBA-ready venue in T-Mobile Arena.
The Iger-Kushner team would face stiff competition.
Vegas Golden Knights owner Bill Foley unveiled his own expansion effort earlier this month, proposing to base a franchise at T-Mobile Arena.
Basketball Hall of Famer Magic Johnson has also been linked to a separate ownership group exploring a Las Vegas bid.
LeBron James, who for years publicly expressed interest in owning an NBA team in Las Vegas, poured cold water on speculation about his interest earlier this year, saying he was not pursuing an ownership bid.
For Iger, the effort would represent his latest move into sports investing after ending his second stint atop Disney in March.
The longtime entertainment executive helped transform Disney into a media powerhouse through acquisitions including Pixar, Marvel, Lucasfilm and most of 21st Century Fox, while overseeing ESPN’s decades-long relationship with the NBA.
Away from Disney, Iger and his wife, Willow Bay, acquired a controlling stake in the National Women’s Soccer League’s Angel City FC.
His relationship with Kushner has also deepened in recent years.
Iger first joined Thrive Capital as a venture partner after retiring from Disney in 2022. He famously came back to Disney’s board when it recruited him to replace Bob Chapek later that year.
Although he returned to Disney, Iger remained an investor in Thrive after joining a syndicate that purchased a minority stake in the venture capital firm in 2023.
His return this spring coincided with the launch of a new arm called Thrive Eternal. Its first announced investment was a minority stake in Major League Baseball’s San Francisco Giants.
Last year, Thrive Capital quietly bought a small stake in the NBA’s Miami Heat.
Kushner has built Thrive into one of Silicon Valley’s most influential investment firms through early bets on companies including Instagram and OpenAI, while increasingly expanding beyond traditional venture investing into sports and entertainment.
Thrive declined to comment. The Post has sought comment from Iger and the NBA.
