Las Vegas is the unquestioned belle of the ball right now. Sin City just hosted its first Super Bowl, months after hosting the NBA’s inaugural in-season tournament.
The Las Vegas Aces are fresh off back-to-back WNBA titles and the city already hosts the NBA’s summer league annually. It also doesn’t hurt that LeBron James, the face of the NBA, has openly admitted he’d like to own the expansion team in Las Vegas, whenever that day arrives.
And now, NBA commissioner Adam Silver is circling back and making it clear that Las Vegas is on the league’s list for an expansion team. It won’t happen until after 2025, when the NBA’s nine-year, $24 billion media right’s deal expires and a new deal is complete.
Then, and only then, will the NBA consider adding to the 30 teams that already make up the league.
“We want to figure out what our media relationships are going to look like, but then we will turn to expansion,” Silver said in an interview on ESPN’s “The Pat McAfee Show” on Wednesady.
Seattle, Nashville, Vancouver, Montreal and Mexico City have all been floated as potential expansion cities. Regarding Mexico City, specifically, Silver told NBA.com that even though bringing a team there is “probably not going to happen in the next wave of expansion,” Silver reassured that Mexico City is “on our radar.”
NBA All-Star Weekend kicks off later this week, and Silver will speak on Saturday at his annual press conference.
Christine Lake is a sports fanatic who lives and breathes athletics. With an extensive background in sports journalism, he covers everything from major league championships to grassroots sports events. When she’s not on the field or at the stadium, you’ll find Christine coaching youth sports teams.
