Las Vegas already seems part of the NBA world, which makes expansion decision feel inevitable

Milwaukee coach Doc Rivers has heard and seen enough. He’s convinced there will be an NBA team in Las Vegas.

“Yeah, they’re going to get it,” Rivers said.

It’s no secret that when NBA expansion happens — nobody has revealed exactly when that will be — Las Vegas will be at the front of the list of candidate cities to get one of what will probably be two new clubs, pushing the league to 32 franchises. And given the way the NBA Cup and other NBA events have been received, probably nobody would say that coming to the Nevada desert full-time would be a bad idea.

“I think it would be great,” said Oklahoma City star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, whose team will play Milwaukee in the NBA Cup final on Tuesday night. “The Cup is here. Summer League is here. We can feel the basketball culture in Vegas as players when we come. I think it’s only a matter of time. The city really embraces basketball, and they deserve it for sure.”

LeBron James has said multiple times that he wants to be part of the ownership group when the league expands to Vegas. Commissioner Adam Silver said earlier this year that Las Vegas would “definitely” be a candidate when it’s time to discuss expansion, which is believed to be the next major item on the league’s to-do list. The city already hosts the league’s annual Summer League extravaganza, has been an All-Star host, now has the NBA Cup final four and one of the WNBA’s top franchises in the Las Vegas Aces.

Put it this way: In a city where no wager is a sure thing, betting on Vegas to join the NBA would come pretty close.

“Nothing’s been set, and we haven’t even determined whether to expand yet,” Silver said in November, the last time he spoke at a news conference on the expansion topic. “My sense is that if we expanded, we’d do an even number, because then we might have to do some adjustments in the conferences. But I think it makes sense to have two conferences of 16 teams if we were to do it. There have been times in the past in the NBA when we had an odd number, so it’s possible. But I think we most likely, if we were to expand, would look to expand to two cities.”

Seattle is another city that everybody mentions as a top candidate for expansion. Mexico City could be a serious candidate at some point. Louisville, Kansas City, Nashville and Montreal are believed to have investment groups that want to talk about getting into the league.

Las Vegas, the gambling hub of the U.S., was once essentially off-limits to pro sports leagues. Obviously, that is no longer the case. Vegas has a two-time WNBA title-winning team in the Aces and that league’s best player in A’ja Wilson, a Stanley Cup winner in hockey’s Vegas Golden Knights, the NFL’s Raiders and is expected to have Major League Baseball when the Athletics’ relocation is likely to be completed in time for the 2028 season. And with Summer League and the NBA Cup, it already feels like the city is truly part of the NBA.

The city has obvious distractions — glitz, glamour, gambling, nightlife. Those don’t get in the way of players handling business when in town for games, Bucks guard Damian Lillard said.

“I’m not 22 or 23 years old. I’ve been to Vegas many times, and I’ve had fun in Vegas,” Lillard said. “I’ve been here for Summer League playing. I’ve been here during Summer League. I’ve been here for a lot of fights; I’m a big boxing fan. I know what I’m here for this time, and it is not to enjoy Vegas.”

Saturday’s Cup semifinals — Milwaukee beating Atlanta behind a monster effort from Giannis Antetokounmpo, and Oklahoma City beating Houston in a predictable show of top defenses — even featured a red-carpet entrance much like award shows.

The Raiders sent pretty much their entire defensive line. The Aces had some of their players sitting courtside, getting huge screams from the crowd when introduced. Former NBA players like Oscar Robertson, Blake Griffin, Chandler Parsons, Lou Williams, Joakim Noah, Deron Williams, Rip Hamilton and Gary Payton were all there. And that doesn’t even count the likes of Shaquille O’Neal, Charles Barkley and Kenny Smith, all there as part of TNT’s broadcast team.

When it happens, when Vegas officially gets a team, it’s pretty clear that it’ll be popular immediately. TIM REYNOLDS, LAS VEGAS, MDT/AP