LAS VEGAS (AP) 鈥� LeBron James came to Las Vegas for a preseason game. And a pitch.
James, who has spoken in the past about wanting to eventually own an NBA franchise 鈥� with Las Vegas on his mind 鈥� has sent another crystal-clear message to Commissioner Adam Silver, reminding him of his plans.
鈥淚 know Adam is in Abu Dhabi right now, I believe. But he probably sees every single interview and transcript that comes through from NBA players,鈥� James said after the Lakers鈥� matchup with the Phoenix Suns on Wednesday night. 鈥淪o, I want the team here, Adam. Thank you.鈥�
James smiled after finishing that thought, knowing full well that Silver would soon hear every word.
Silver is indeed in Abu Dhabi, for preseason games this week between the Milwaukee Bucks and Atlanta Hawks. The league certainly was aware of James' remarks; a story about what he said was posted Thursday morning to the NBA website.
Silver has spoken of expansion plans many times in recent years, but there has also been a clear belief that the NBA won鈥檛 move forward on adding teams until the next collective bargaining agreement and television deals are complete.
That said, Silver has called Las Vegas 鈥渁 great sports market.鈥�
鈥淎s I said before, at some point, this league invariably will expand, but it鈥檚 not at this moment that we are discussing it,鈥� Silver said earlier this year. 鈥淏ut one of the factors in expanding is the potential dilution of talent.鈥�
James said in June on his show 鈥淭he Shop: Uninterrupted鈥� that he wants to own a team and wants it to be in Las Vegas, which has long been mentioned as a possible expansion site. The city has become a basketball epicenter of sorts in recent years, playing host to the NBA Summer League 鈥� featuring all 30 teams, and often with James sitting courtside for some Lakers games 鈥� along with many major USA Basketball events. It's also the home of the newly crowned WNBA champion Las Vegas Aces and was the site of the 2007 NBA All-Star Game.
Lakers coach Darvin Ham said he thinks 鈥渋t's only a matter of time" before Las Vegas gets a team, calling it 鈥渁 no-brainer."
鈥淚t has rapidly become an NBA market," Ham said. 鈥淲hen you look at Summer League and that whole layout, the way it's done now, I remember a day when you barely knew the NBA was in the city during Summer League. And now, it's like a huge extravaganza. It's a whole rollout, a whole layout of excitement."
Fans in Las Vegas gave James loud ovations Wednesday night, and he responded by scoring 23 points in 18 minutes. He appeared in only the first half, making 8 of his 11 shots.
He looked right at home. And if Las Vegas becomes a business home one day, James clearly wouldn鈥檛 mind.
鈥淚t鈥檚 the best fan base in the world and I would love to bring a team here at some point,鈥� James said. 鈥淭hat would be amazing.鈥�
___
More AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/NBA and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports
Tim Reynolds, The Associated Press
