It’s not as if this hasn’t been discussed within NBA circles for some time. I wouldn’t be surprised if countless straw votes haven’t already been taken over the last several years.
It just now seems real.
Like when steel began showing up at the ballpark along the Strip for the Athletics.
So, 2028 for the NBA, huh?
Amazing.
The league’s Board of Governors will reportedly vote next week to explore Las Vegas and Seattle as expansion markets with the idea that those cities might begin play in the 2028-29 season.
Once the process scales an initial hurdle, the league would begin talking with prospective ownership groups.
You can likely be involved with an extra $7 billion to $10 billion laying around. NBA owners want to make sure there is enough cash involved to guarantee turning 1/30th of revenue into 1/32nd makes sense for their pockets.
Hey. You can never have enough.
Knights came first
It’s just another reminder of how fast things have changed across Southern Nevada when it comes to professional sports. In the big picture, it’s good for tourism. It’s good for growth.
It’s good for the perception of Las Vegas.
It might still be a somewhat transient place within its metropolitan area, but the excitement for pro sports is palpable.
Many always believed the NBA would arrive first, but give the Vegas Golden Knights credit: They were the catalyst. They proved we were definitely a major league sports town.
Then the NFL touched down with the Las Vegas Raiders, and that’s a whole different level of juice.
The Entertainment Capital of the World has done more than flirt with being known as the Sports Capital of the World. It is now.
The question is a consistent one, about whether the Las Vegas market can support so many teams. Should the NBA arrive, Southern Nevada would join 12 cities across the United States to host all four major professional sports.
There are also the Las Vegas Aces of the WNBA and Division I college sports with UNLV.
“You think it would be getting too crowded, but I think each one of these (sports) demonstrates that they have their own niche markets that are unique,” said Pat Christenson, former president of Las Vegas Events. “It’s not predominantly the market itself — it’s 50-50 between visitors and locals.
“Normally, you might be worried about the market getting oversaturated. I just don’t see that here.”
It definitely helped the Knights that they won immediately as an expansion franchise and officially arrived at one of the town’s darkest moments of the 1 October mass shooting.
Las Vegas fell in love with its new hockey team. It needed something to cheer. To feel good about.
But this is a basketball town at heart. History is pretty clear about that. I’m thinking the NBA wouldn’t be this serious about placing an expansion team here if it believed the market couldn’t bear the fruits of a passionate fan base.
And there is one. You see that annually with the NBA Summer League, which by some has been referred to as the league’s 31st franchise. You’ve seen it when the Los Angeles Lakers play here. When the Utah Jazz were positioned in Las Vegas for a few seasons in the 1980s.
Magic, LeBron
There is a venue in T-Mobile Arena that could house the team — at least temporarily — with upgrades that would have to occur. It’s a proven destination town. There are countless reasons why the NBA has targeted Las Vegas for its growth.
These things are never easy. Ironic that the NBA would be the last team into Las Vegas. But when you have names such as Magic Johnson and LeBron James and potentially Bill Foley desiring to be involved with ownership groups, the chances of success multiplies.
“I just think when you look at the Golden Knights and the Raiders and the way they went about it — and now the A’s — it’s just a system here that the whole state will be behind professional sports,” Christenson said. “All of the pieces are coming together. That’s what I hope (NBA owners) see and approve it.”
So, 2028 for the NBA, huh?
Amazing.
Ed Graney, a Sigma Delta Chi Award winner for sports column writing, can be reached at egraney@reviewjournal.com. Follow @edgraney on X.
