Several prominent members of the NBA and team owners are becoming increasingly convinced that Las Vegas will be awarded a franchise.
Discussions on expanding the league are reportedly high on the priority list, and Las Vegas has established itself to win one of the two spaces.
Commenting on the speculation around the NBA expansion in November, Commissioner Adam Silver said, “Nothing's been set, and we haven't even determined whether to expand yet. My sense is that if we expanded, we'd do an even number, because then we might have to do some adjustments in the conferences."
Silver added, "but I think it makes sense to have two conferences of 16 teams if we were to do it. There have been times in the past in the NBA when we had an odd number, so it's possible. But I think we most likely, if we were to expand, would look to expand to two cities."
Mexico City is another leading contender, along with Seattle, which lost its franchise when the owner of the SuperSonics moved the team to Oklahoma to form the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Louisville, Kansas City, Montreal, and Nashville are also expected to put forward bids.
The move has plenty of backing across the NBA, with Oklahoma point guard, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, expressing support for the potential expansion, whilst practicing with the Thunder in Vegas this week.
Ahead of OKC's NBA Cup final against the Milwaukee Bucks in Sin City this Tuesday night, Gilgeous-Alexander said, "I think it would be great. The Cup is here, the Summer League is here. We can feel the basketball culture in Vegas as players when we come. I think it's only a matter of time. The city really embraces basketball, and they deserve it for sure.”
LasVegas’ History with the Major Leagues
A Las Vegas NBA franchise would not be the first sports team to be founded in or relocate to Sin City.
Since the U.S. Supreme Court struck down the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act of 1992 (PASPA) in 2018, sports betting has spread across the U.S., allowing sports leagues and franchises to look at Nevada as a viable location for a team, as it is no longer the hub of all U.S. sports betting.
The Vegas Golden Knights of the NHL were trendsetters in this area, launching in 2017, before the PASPA decision, and playing their inaugural season in 2017/18. The team was approved in 2016 and became the first expansion franchise in the National Hockey League since 2000.
The Golden Knights play at the T-Mobile Arena, which opened in 2016 and won their first Stanley Cup in the 2022/23 season.
The most successful team in Nevada, the Las Vegas Aces, moved to the city in 2018, previously playing in San Antonio and Utah. The team won back-to-back WNBA Championships in 2022 and 2023 and is now owned in part by former NFL quarterback, Tom Brady.
Four-time NBA MVP, LeBron James, has expressed an interest in minority ownership in a potential Las Vegas NBA team, following Brady’s precedent.
Brady has also invested in the NFL’s Las Vegas Raiders franchise. The Raiders played their first regular season home game at Allegiant Stadium, Las Vegas in 2021.
Another Oakland team, the former Oakland Athletics of the MLB, is currently operating without a home, and is expected to move to Las Vegas in 2028. The city has also become a regular host for Formula One races.
