Do NBA Teams Have Their Own Planes? List of NBA Teams & Players with Private Jets:
NBA teams don’t fly commercial, but most of them don’t own a plane either. They charter. Below is how team travel works, which teams have owned their own aircraft, and which players really have a private jet.
Do NBA Teams Own Their Planes?
A few have. The Detroit Pistons were the first, buying a jet they named Roundball One in the late 1980s, back when most teams still flew commercial and big men folded themselves into coach seats. The Dallas Mavericks have flown on a Boeing 757 owned by Mark Cuban, who is the kind of owner who once bought a Gulfstream over the internet.
Most of the league does it differently. The NBA has a long-standing charter deal with Delta Air Lines, and the majority of teams fly on Delta jets set aside for them, mostly Boeing 757s. A normal 757 carries about 200 passengers. The NBA versions carry a fraction of that, with first-class seats throughout, tables for card games and room for seven-footers to stretch out.
Charter travel is now a given. Teams fly out right after a game, land in the next city in the middle of the night, and go straight to the hotel. It is one of the biggest differences between the NBA and the minor leagues, where players still take buses and commercial flights.
Which NBA Players Own a Private Jet?
Fewer than you would think. A jet costs tens of millions of dollars to buy and millions more a year to run, and players fly on the team charter all season anyway. Most stars who fly private rent by the hour or buy a share of a plane instead of owning one.
- Michael Jordan: The best-known jet in sports. Jordan’s Gulfstream has carried a paint job in North Carolina blue and, later, the elephant print from his sneakers. Its tail number includes 236MJ: his jersey number, his six championships and his initials.
- LeBron James: Widely reported to own a Gulfstream, which fits a player who became a billionaire while still active.
- Magic Johnson: A businessman for longer than he was a player, and a jet owner for years.
- Mark Cuban: Not a player, but no list of NBA jets is complete without him.
Kobe Bryant’s case was different. He was famous for commuting to Lakers games by helicopter to avoid Los Angeles traffic.
Interested to see what it’s like on an NBA private plane? Check out these awesome pics from Getty.
Who is the next NBA player that will buy a private jet?
This is a question not just about pure salary but rather scheduling, ie how important is one’s schedule? LeBron James is more than an athlete; he is a billionaire businessman. As for the rest of the NBA, the question and answer would seem to revolve around who else is both rich and successful with off court pursuits.
Could Kevin Durant be the next NBA player to buy a private jet? Him and Rich Kleiman certainly have a few successful off court operations. Steph Curry and James Harden are other possibilities of players to buy a private jet; however Curry seems too modest and Harden spends too much money at nightclubs.
Giannis is probably not going to because his hometown in Greece is just too far for a private jet. Same goes for Luka Doncic – he ain’t buying a private plane any time soon. Ditto for Jokic.
Maybe we could argue Jayson Tatum but we have not seen enough off court production from him yet to warrant a private jet purchase. For now, it is just LeBron and the retired legends; Jordan, Magic, and more.
