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Although nothing is official, it appears that Las Vegas has been identified as one of the potential cities that could host an NBA franchise in the near future. Some NBA stars seemed to be fond of the idea, as they shared their thoughts on this prospect with Mark Anderson of the Las Vegas Review-Journal during the Team USA minicamp.
“They’ve got hockey here, and they’ve got WNBA here, the NFL will be here in a couple of years,” said the Oklahoma City Thunder's Paul George. “I think Vegas is built for an NBA team. I think they should be here. It has everything. It’s easy access from the airport down to the Strip. I don’t see why not.”
To be clear, there is no movement from the NBA or any interested party from Las Vegas, but it is an exciting prospect nonetheless.
For some players though, a road game in Vegas might prove to be too much of a distraction — especially to those who opt to willfully take part in the city's nightlife.
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”I think players like coming here,” shared Golden State Warriors back-to-back Finals MVP Kevin Durant. “I’m sure whatever team they put together would be successful here because of so much support and so many great resources, and it would add on another level of excitement for the NBA, for the game of basketball, so I’m all for it.”
A testament to Durant's statement is the fact that the Vegas Knights made it all the way to the NHL Stanley Cup Final in their inaugural season last year. At the end of the day, it's all about the fan base support as well as the commitment level of the prospective team's backers.
The last time the NBA added new teams to the league was in 1996, when the Vancouver Grizzlies and the Toronto Raptors were established. It's been twelve years since, so perhaps the association is at least looking at the possibility.
