Las Vegas Is Taking The Initial Steps To Be Ready For An NBA Team Should The League Come Calling

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Mark it down folks, this is how it starts. By now we can all agree that Las Vegas can survive as a professional sports town. Between the Golden Knights, the Raiders, and the Aces it's proven to be a legit market. That's why you hear rumblings of the A's potentially coming down there if they don't get their new stadium. NBA Summer League has been going on in Vegas for years and it is one of the best ways you can spend a few weeks of your summer. Highly recommend it to anyone who has never gone but loves basketball. It's tremendous.

Which brings us to the NBA. They are the white whale. Since we know basketball works in Vegas just by looking at the Summer League crowds (they essentially sell out), it's really only been a matter of time before something like this happened. The question wasn't so much if they could make it work, but where? Now we have that answer with what appears to be two different NBA caliber arena's being built. All signs are pointing to an eventual expansion of the NBA, and if that were to be the case I feel like you need to add two cities to keep things an even number. For me, that would be Seattle and Vegas. Maybe you do some conference realignment, like put the Grizzlies/Wolves in the East or something, I dunno let Adam Silver figure that shit out. That's way more likely than moving a current franchise in my opinion. The point is, I truly believe we'll see an NBA team in Vegas in our lifetimes and my guess is these rich dudes and massive companies agree. 

Think of what that might mean for NBA free agency. Something tells me NBA players are fond of the Vegas lifestyle. Remember, just like Texas or Florida there is no state income tax in Nevada. Right now those are the only NBA markets that offer such a perk, and it's certainly a factor that plays into free agency on some level. You add Vegas and that lifestyle/cost of living into the mix and who knows, maybe that changes the landscape of the league over time. Think of all the content that would come from an NBA All Star Game in Vegas. That alone should be enough for this to all happen. 

Then you factor in the gambling aspect of all this and the money to be made for the league, and it's such a no brainer. The NBA has the talent pool to expand, the revenue potential is through the roof, it just makes too much sense. I don't think anyone should be surprised if we see this come to fruition in the next 5-10 years and I can't wait.