LeBron James Reveals He’s Hoping to Own NBA Franchise in Las Vegas

LeBron James has been open about his post-playing career dream of owning an NBA team in recent years. In a snippet of the latest episode of HBO’s The Shop: Uninterrupted, James reveals where he wants to own squad. The only thing is, the franchise doesn’t exist yet. 

“I want to own a team,” James said. “I want to buy a team for sure. I want a team in Vegas. I want the team in Vegas.”

There is currently no NBA team in Las Vegas so either a team would need to be relocated there or there’d have to be an expansion. On June 2, NBA commissioner Adam Silver told reporters there’s currently no plans to expand. 

“We are not discussing that at this time,” Silver said. “As I’ve said before, at some point, this league will invariably expand, just not at this moment.”

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In March, a group announced that it purchased 25 acres of land in Las Vegas to build a $3 billion sports and entertainment district that will include a 20,000-seat arena. With the announcement, it was made clear that if the NBA ever wanted to have a franchise in Las Vegas, the new venue could serve as its home. Additionally, Silver said that Sin City would be on the short list as one of the teams to be considered when the NBA inevitably expands during an interview in October. 

“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.”

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