Adam Silver Says Las Vegas Is Under Consideration for Potential NBA Expansion

The NFL and NHL each have teams in Las Vegas, and the NBA may eventually join its fellow professional sports leagues in Sin City

Mick Akers of the Las Vegas Review-Journal noted NBA commissioner Adam Silver discussed the subject of expansion while speaking at the CAA World Congress of Sports in New York on Tuesday and mentioned Las Vegas as a potential destination.

"It's on a list at the point that we do turn to expansion, which isn't right now, but at some point, no doubt Vegas will be on the list," he said.

While the NBA does not have a team in Las Vegas, the league has a presence in the city through the Summer League.

Silver pointed out the city is "almost like our 31st team with the kind of presence that we have. It's a huge presence in Vegas in the summer. We sell well over 100,000 tickets and all of our teams are out there. It's sort of like baseball winter meetings."

The NBA last expanded in the 2004-05 season when it added the Charlotte Bobcats.

The Oakland Raiders moved to Las Vegas prior to the 2020 season in the NFL, and the NHL expanded with the Vegas Golden Knights for the 2017-18 campaign.

There used to be something of a stigma with having a professional sports team in Las Vegas because of the city's reputation as a haven for gambling, but that is no longer the case now that multiple states have legalized sports betting. In fact, the NBA announced a partnership with William Hill in 2019.

The league also partnered with DraftKings in multiple ways and has seemed to embrace the popularity of sports betting.

Silver's comments suggest expansion isn't around the immediate corner, but it seems as if Las Vegas will be in contention when it is a more pressing topic.