NBA Rumors: Fenway Sports Group Leader to Get Vegas Team in Possible Expansion

Having extended its reach into MLB, the NHL and England's Premier League, Fenway Sports Group might be setting its sights on the NBA next.

The Ringer's Bill Simmons reported on his podcast that FSG is a "leading contender" to land an expansion franchise in Las Vegas. Simmons said he believes Vegas and Seattle will be the NBA's next expansion destinations.

Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James is among FSG's partners, and Simmons speculated that James will get involved in whatever the company's NBA plans would be.

Expansion in the NBA isn't imminent but is "inevitable" by commissioner Adam Silver's own admission in 2017.

Financially, the league can afford to grow. Silver said in October that officials expected to generate $10 billion in revenue for the 2021-22 season. CNBC's Jabari Young also cited one estimate by a consultancy firm that the NBA set a record for sponsorship revenue ($1.46 billion) in 2020-21.

Speaking with Rachel Nichols on ESPN in 2020, Silver made it clear that Seattle, where Climate Pledge Arena has been renovated, will be an obvious expansion contender:

Assuming the NBA would want to keep an even number of teams to have the two conferences balanced, Las Vegas would be a logical destination alongside Seattle.

Any stigma about putting a sports franchise in the mecca of sports gambling has faded.

The NHL's Vegas Golden Knights, WNBA's Las Vegas Aces and NFL's Las Vegas Raiders also showed fans can quickly draw strong allegiances toward local teams. The Aces' success in Sin City offers the best example of how a professional basketball team might fare.

In terms of prospective ownership groups, Fenway Sports Group might be the safest bet on the board for the NBA. The Boston Red Sox have won multiple World Series under FSG's watch, while Liverpool has ended a 30-year Premier League title drought and won the Champions League since FSG took over.