LeBron’s expansion talk will help deliver NBA franchises to two coveted cities

LeBron James wants to own an NBA expansion franchise in Las Vegas. Every time the four-time champ drops a simple snippet mentioning the state, he reignites [the] talk of expansion that commissioner Adam Silver has tried to somewhat quell. Credit the constant fodder surrounding cities like Seattle and Las Vegas as the reason why their league additions will be an inevitable move.

Silver’s press conference deflections even demonstrated where the NBA will likely be heading:

"“Those are wonderful markets,” Silver said. “We were in Seattle. I’m sorry we are no longer there. We have a WNBA team in Seattle in an almost brand-new building that’s doing spectacular. And Las Vegas, where we will be at our summer league in July, has shown itself to be a great sports market as well.”"

One thing that Silver failed to mention at the time was that they also had a thriving team in Nevada, with the eventual WNBA champion Las Vegas Aces. Not only did they and the Seattle Storm sell out arenas and set attendance records, but their fans packed the streets to celebrate their respective parades over the years. What the commissioner also forgot to articulate, in his June press conference, were the many ways that the NBA has been dipping its toes into both destinations.

LeBron James is the latest voice behind NBA expansion, but he is not the only one.

The appeal of a return to the Seattle area is obvious. Seattle SuperSonics fans. Former Sonics players like Kevin Durant and city natives like Jamal Crawford have been pining for it for years. Also, with the Climate Pledge Arena opening in 2021, there are no longer the excuses of being stagnant due to a potential team needing a new home.

As a result, the league chose to showcase the new arena during an NBA preseason game between the Portland Trail Blazers and Los Angeles Clippers. On the other hand, Crawford chose the summer to display Seattle as a hotbed for basketball by featuring the likes of James and Jayson Tatum at his CrawsOver Pro-Am.

But when you speak of highlighting a city, it would be impossible to find a place in the United States that the NBA has used as more of a testing ground than Las Vegas. It was no coincidence that Victor Wembanyama’s stateside breakthrough was placed under the flair of Vegas or that USA Basketball training camps and tryouts reside there. The city has become a mecca for basketball environments where players gravitate and show up to support events.

The NBA and WNBA’s all-star games were both played there, as is the NBA Summer League, and the G League Ignite have relocated to Henderson. On top of being a draw and proving to be a viable sports town with the Aces and Las Vegas Raiders, the league truly opened the door to the city when they began to embrace legal sports betting.

Put it this way, if that was the moment that put Las Vegas on the clock, James’ declaration hit the button on the countdown.

The league may not be ready to announce expansion just yet, but expect them to, with permanent mainstays in Seattle and Las Vegas.