At some point, the NBA will end up expanding and adding more teams to the league. It is no secret that the two preferred locations for expansion teams are Las Vegas and Seattle. It seems as though there are already some people who have an interest in owning the potential team that will be located in Las Vegas.
A recent report revealed that Shaquille O’Neal would love to become the majority owner of the expansion team in Las Vegas.
“I would like to have my own group,” O’Neal told Arash Markazi of The Messenger. “I know Vegas hasn’t been awarded an NBA team yet but if they ever get to a point where they are awarded a team, I would like to be a part of that. I don’t want to partner up with nobody. I want it all for myself.”
There is no doubt that it would be amazing to see a former player owning an NBA team, especially since Michael Jordan recently sold the Charlotte Hornets. Later in the interview, O’Neal elaborated on why he would love to own the team in Las Vegas, claiming that he already owns businesses in the city.
“I’ve been living in Las Vegas for over 20 years,” O’Neal said. “I love it here. Las Vegas has always been a city you knew was going to grow. You could see different casinos, different real estate projects, and different nightclubs popping up. I’ve always been a part of it. I used to own one of the hottest nightclubs, sold it and now I got 9-10 restaurants here. I’m doing very, very well and I want to continue to grow with Vegas.”
We will see whether the NBA allows O’Neal to purchase the expansion team in the future. There is no doubt that the former Los Angeles Lakers legend will have to compete with other bidders, and we’ll see who ends up coming out on top once more concrete plans for expansion are announced.
LeBron James Also Wants To Own The Team In Las Vegas
If Shaquille O’Neal wants to be the governor of the Las Vegas team, then he will likely have to compete with LeBron James. In fact, James has already revealed that he wants to own the team in Las Vegas as well.
“I wanna own a team. Yeah, I wanna buy a team for sure. I would much rather own a team before I talk,” James said. “I wanna- yeah, I want a team in Vegas. I want the team in Vegas.”
James already has stakes in other professional sports franchises, such as the Boston Red Sox in the MLB and the Liverpool FC in the premier league. He is also a partner of the Fenway Sports Group, and they would likely be interested in an NBA team should one be put on sale.
There’s Already A Lot Of Interest In The Las Vegas Expansion Franchise
Aside from Shaquille O’Neal and LeBron James, others will likely try to purchase the expansion franchise in Las Vegas. In fact, in July, Adam Silver said there’s already enormous interest in the Las Vegas expansion team.
It would definitely be good to see either O’Neal or James become the owner of the Las Vegas expansion franchise. It is always good to see former players involved in the league.
This is definitely a situation we need to keep monitoring. As the time for expansion draws ever closer, more former players might be willing to join the sweepstakes, which could lead to a huge bidding war.
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