James was one of the first people to invest in Blaze Pizza back in 2012, but in 2015, he cut his ties to McDonald’s in order to begin appearing in marketing and advertising materials for the pizza restaurant. It took Blaze just four years to expand from two to 200 franchise locations, which ranks among the fastest expansions ever in the restaurant business, but James’ interest in the restaurant went beyond dollars and cents, according to the man himself: That’s a clever way for LeBron to take some probably well-deserved credit for Blaze’s recent success, and the chain is expected to break into other countries in the near future, eventually going public with a valuation of at least a billion dollars sometime in the next three to five years, according to Forbes. Many would have scoffed at his decision to back an obscure pizza restaurant over as well-known a brand as McDonald’s, but the recent (and plausible future) success of the company vindicates another bit of King James wisdom: When he puts it that way, he makes it sound so obvious.
