Las Vegas Mayor Confident In Potential NBA Expansion

NBA commissioner Adam Silver recently stated ahead of the start of the 2022 NBA Finals that the league is not actively looking to expand, but Las Vegas seems confident that an NBA team will come their way sooner than later.

NBA expansion always seems to be a trending topic near the end of every single season. The NBA has not added a new team since the Charlotte Bobcats organization back in 2004, but this has not stopped many from speculating what the future of the league is going to look like.

This past Thursday, NBA commissioner Adam Silver spoke to the media ahead of the start of the 2022 NBA Finals and one of the topics that was brought to his attention was the possibility of league expansion given rumors that Las Vegas and Seattle could be awarded with expansion franchises as soon as 2024 when the league’s media rights deal expires.

NBA Commissioner Adam Silver shoots down the latest NBA expansion rumors which include Las Vegas and Seattle as possible destinations. He further spoke about LV: “Las Vegas has shown itself to be a great pro sports market.”#vegas #nba #NBAFinals 🎥 @nba pic.twitter.com/B2Whh3qOfo

— Mick Akers (@mickakers) June 3, 2022

Silver made his intentions and that of the league very clear though, stating that these rumors are not true and that while at some point the league will expand, “it’s not at this moment that we are discussing it.”

Las Vegas has turned itself into more than just gambling and sports betting, as it has suddenly become a massive area with plenty of opportunities for investors and sports leagues. The NHL, WNBA and NFL all have successful franchises and with talks of the MLB possibly looking into moving a team to Las Vegas, the NBA could eventually follow suit.

NBA Summer League has been hosted by Las Vegas on the campus of UNLV since 2004 and with the success this has brought every single year to the area, Mayor Carolyn Goodman believes that the NBA will reach a deal with the city in the coming years to bring a new basketball franchise to Las Vegas.

“I really do believe NBA will be among the next,” Goodman told 13 Action News. “We certainly have the WNBA, that was why that was there, a sort of 'let's see how they do,' and they've done remarkably well.”

Along with hosting Summer League in Las Vegas, Team USA basketball sets up their training camps and games there as well, giving the NBA more reason to add a Las Vegas team to their league.

At some point, the league is going to expand and as of right now, Las Vegas finds themselves in the driver’s seat to be awarded yet another professional sports franchise.