CNN
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National Basketball Association (NBA) star LeBron James on Wednesday restated his desire to own a franchise in Las Vegas should the league expand to the city.
James’ comments came after his Los Angeles Lakers lost to the Phoenix Suns in a preseason game in the Nevada city, with the 37-year-old directly addressing league commissioner Adam Silver.
Asked about what is it is like playing in the city, James said, “It’s wonderful – it’s the best fanbase in the world and I would love to bring a team here at some point. That would be amazing.
“I know Adam [Silver] is in Abu Dhabi right now, I believe … But he probably sees every single interview and transcript that comes through from NBA players, so, I want the team here, Adam. Thank you.”
CNN has reached out to the NBA for a response to James’ latest comments.
James had first openly discussed the idea of owning a team in Las Vegas on an episode of talk show “The Shop” in June.
“I wanna own a team. Yeah, I wanna buy a team, for sure. I want a team in Vegas,” he said in the show.
Silver has publicly talked about the prospect of expansion. Ahead of the NBA Finals in June, he said, “At some point, this league invariably will expand, but it’s not at this moment that we are discussing it.
“Las Vegas, where we will be at our Summer League in July, has shown itself to be a great sports market as well.”
James already has some experience in the field, having been a part-owner of Liverpool FC since 2011 and the Boston Red Sox since 2021.
James scored 23 points in 18 minutes in Wednesday night’s defeat by the Suns, only playing in the first half of the game.
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