Now that LeBron James has a net worth of $1 billion, he has his eyes set on a big prize. In a clip of The Shop, the NBA superstar revealed he wants to buy an NBA team. And not only that, James says he wants to have his team play in Las Vegas.
“I want to buy a team for sure,” he said in the episode’s preview. “I want to own a team in Vegas.” The city is no stranger to pro sports teams as it’s the home of WNBA’s Las Vegas Aces, the NHL’s Golden Knights and the NFL’s Las Vegas Raiders. It has been reported that the NBA is looking to add expansion teams in Las Vegas, and Seattle. NBA commissioner Adam Silver was asked about expansion ahead of this year’s NBA Finals and did not comment on the situation.
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“We are not discussing that at this time,” Silver said, per Sports Illustrated. “As I’ve said before, at some point, this league will invariably expand, just not at this moment.” One big reason the NBA could add a team in Las Vegas is the fact that the city hosts the NBA Summer League. Additionally, Team USA Basketball sets up its training camps and games there, as mentioned by Sports Illustrated.
“I really do believe NBA will be among the next,” Mayor Carolyn Goodman previously told 13 Action News in Las Vegas. “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.” According to The Athletic, the Oak View Group closed on a 66-acre parcel of land in Las Vegas in February and plans to build an arena for possibly an NBA team. Marc Badain, a consultant hired by the Oak View Group, said the arena will be “NBA-ready” once the arena is complete.
“We’re not going to be speculative,” he said. “We’re not going to be presumptive. We’re not going to make assumptions. Tim was very clear. He said, ‘We don’t get to make that decision.’ That decision is up to the 30 NBA owners and the NBA office. And (CEO) Tim (Leiweke)’s done it before, Oak View’s done it before where they’ve built a venue, and it was called tenant-ready. Partner-ready is probably better term than tenant-ready. And should the NBA decide that Vegas is a market they want to enter, they’ll have an option in our facility.”
