Stop us if you’ve heard this before, but Las Vegas is close to getting a pro basketball team. This feels like it’s been in the works for a few years now, but things have just taken a pretty big step. That’s right, Las Vegas is closer than ever to adding an NBA team, as the Board of Governors have approved for Sin City to start looking at bidders to help fund expansion. Vegas is joined by Seattle in the efforts to make this happen.
This feels like historic news, as we are inching closer to the two cities getting pro teams. For Las Vegas in particular, we’ve seen the growing popularity of basketball in Las Vegas in recent years. The Pac-12 Tournament has been there previously in March, while the NBA Summer League in Vegas continues to grow in popularity. Come the 2028-29 season, the hope is the NBA regular season will be present there too, which would be fun to see.
“Today’s vote reflects our Board’s interest in exploring potential expansion to Las Vegas and Seattle — two markets with a long history of support for NBA basketball,” NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said, with both Las Vegas and Seattle taking the next step to getting a pro team in their respective cities. “We look forward to taking this next step and engaging with interested parties.”
There are still some loops to jump through here, but this is no question a positive step with things moving forward like this. With the Las Vegas Raiders in town, plus the MLB making a move down the road to Vegas too, adding an NBA team feels like it’s going to be the last piece of the puzzle for the city. While nothing is set in stone, it sure feels like things will get finalized before you know it and plenty of people will be thrilled soon enough.
It goes without saying, but Seattle getting a pro basketball team again is long overdue. This is something that local citizens in the Pacific Northwest have been waiting on since the SuperSonics made the move from Seattle to Oklahoma City. The Thunder won the NBA Final last year, which only made things worse. The Thunder hold the best Las Vegas odds now to repeat as the champs too.
Things still sting for people all over Seattle, but an expansion team potentially arriving in a few years is great news for so many. The thought of Shawn Kemp and Gary Payton one day having their jerseys retired is something sweet to think about. Seattle and Las Vegas are connected here too, as they’d provide the city with two new teams and a friendly rivalry would develop.
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As for a potential return to Seattle, this is something people all over Las Vegas are going to keep on following closely too. Soon enough, we’ll know for sure if both cities get good news. It will be interesting to see if things end up happening that way or not, but things indeed are moving in the right direction and a major economic boost could be coming for the great sports towns.
While we wait for things to come to fruition here, it’s important to keep in mind that Las Vegas adding an NBA team would be great for the sports betting handle in town on a monthly basis. It’s not a secret that betting and tourism numbers have been on the bit of a decline in recent years – sports betting getting legalized all over the USA has surely had something to do with that.
However, a pro NBA team would provide a boost in those tourism numbers, while people would surely love to bet on the local NBA team too. We’re already seeing people do that with the Las Vegas Aces in the WNBA and things would also be exciting for the NBA. Take a look at the Raiders for example, as we’re seeing a ton of NFL betting going on because of the AFC West side now in Sin City.
On a consistent basis, people check those Vegas NFL odds and they put money down on Las Vegas and their players. From our chair, we think it’s safe to assume the same thing would happen with NBA betting if an expansion team arrives within the next three seasons. With so much NBA interest across town, we have a feeling Vegas will get its team soon and it will be a win-win for everyone involved.
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