While nothing is for certain just yet, it feels like a foregone conclusion that the NBA will soon be expanding to add a couple new franchises with the city of Las Vegas being expected to receive one of them. And Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James has long been rumored to be part of a potential ownership group of that expansion team.
LeBron has already dipped his foot into the sports ownership game as he became a partner in Fenway Sports Group which owns the Boston Red Sox of Major League Baseball and Liverpool FC of the English Premier League. The Lakers star has previously spoken about wanting to bring a team to Las Vegas and that desire has gone nowhere.
After James made his preseason debut in the Lakers’ win over the Brooklyn Nets, which took place in Las Vegas, the superstar said it just makes sense to bring an NBA team to the city and he wants to be a part of it, via Spectrum SportsNet:
“It just makes sense. Obviously you have the Raiders here. You have the Knights here. You have the Aces here. You got F1 coming very soon. All-Star Weekend has been here a few times, you got the NBA Summer League that’s very popular. Sports is here and I think adding an NBA franchise here would just add to the momentum that’s going on in this town. It’s an attraction. You don’t have to worry about getting fan support, nothing like that. They show every single time, every year, every summer, like you said even if its USA Basketball or the NBA coming here for Summer League whatever the case may be. I think it’s only a matter of time, and I hope I’m part of that time.”
As LeBron noted, sports has already populated the city so the NBA joining is an obvious next step. The league is familiar with the city thanks to NBA Summer League taking place every year, not to mention All-Star Weekend taking place in 2007.
LeBron himself has plenty of memories in the city as well and is thankful that the Lakers return there every year for a preseason game:
“I’ve been here for quite a long time playing ball, probably since ’05 […] so a lot of great memories here, especially with the USA Olympic National Team. I didn’t get an opportunity to play Summer League here, my Summer League was in Orlando and in Boston, but I pretty much come here every year since I’ve been in the NBA supporting NBA Summer League, being a part of that, being a part of USA Basketball. So Vegas has always treated myself, my teammates, no matter if it’s the red, white and blue or us now with purple and gold, with a lot of respect and a lot of love. So it’s always good for us to be able to come back every year in the preseason since I’ve been here and give back to the fans cuz they’ve been very special to us.”
James already has so much in place once his playing days for the Lakers are done, but he is clearly serious about an NBA team in Las Vegas. Much like when he gets a head of steam on the court, he’s gonna be nearly impossible to stop on this road.
Lakers legend Shaquille O’Neal wants to bring NBA expansion franchise to Las Vegas
LeBron James isn’t the only Lakers great with his eye on an expansion NBA franchise in Las Vegas. Shaquille O’Neal recently expressed his desire to bring a team to the city, but he doesn’t want to be part of a group, Shaq wants to be the group.
The Lakers legend says that he has been living in the city for 20 years and has had a lot of business success in the city already owning different night clubs and restaurants. Shaq said he doesn’t want to partner with anyone and prefers to own the team himself, but time will tell whether that comes to fruition.
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