NBA won't commit to Las Vegas return for in-season tournament

Mick Akers, Las Vegas Review-Journal on Dec 20, 2024

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LAS VEGAS — The NBA Cup championship game was played before a sold-out crowd Tuesday at T-Mobile Arena, but it’s no slam dunk the event will return to Las Vegas.

The Milwaukee Bucks defeated the Oklahoma City Thunder, 97-81, in the final, the last of three games in Las Vegas tied to the league’s in-season tournament. The games — two semifinal games Saturday before Tuesday’s championship — saw a combined announced attendance of 53,569.

NBA commissioner Adam Silver said the league will weigh all options regarding the future of the event and wouldn’t commit to Las Vegas for 2025.

“Not sure,” Silver said Tuesday before the final. “There has been some interest expressed by teams in playing in home markets. It’s complicated enough scheduling on a neutral site. I’m not against going and playing in home markets. I think the question … is if we want to seriously consider that, how would that work from the scheduling standpoint.”

Silver said he likes the tradition the NBA is building in Las Vegas, with the city hosting the in-season tournament semifinals and championship in each of the past two years.

“You have a lot of fans here that can circle the dates on the calendar and plan to come to Las Vegas and plan a holiday around it,” Silver said. “I think that the teams are on both sides. They like the idea of winning that opportunity to play at home. But then you’ve got to move tickets very short term. We have some experience of doing that in the playoffs, but this is a little bit different.”

LVCVA’s interest

The Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority has sponsored the event both years, for $2.25 million in 2023 and $1.6 million this year. LVCVA’s estimate for out-of-town visitors for the event dropped from an estimated 26,000 in 2023 to 17,000 this year.

Those visitors were expected to generate a $53.1 million economic impact in 2023. An estimate wasn’t provided in July when the sponsorship of this year’s event was approved.

Evan Wasch, NBA executive vice president of basketball strategy and analytics, said he was impressed with the turnout this year. He noted there was some uncertainty because none of the league’s larger market and more popular teams — including the Los Angeles Lakers, who won the 2023 tournament, and the Golden State Warriors — advanced to Las Vegas.

“But Hawks, Bucks, Rockets and Thunder fans were here, whether they came in from those places or were locals here rooting for their teams,” Wasch said.

What’s next?

Returning to Las Vegas is one of several options the league will discuss, Wasch said.

“There’s pros and cons,” he said. “We could do just the semifinals in the home markets and come here for the championship and reduce the amount of time teams will be here. I do think there’s a trade-off ... it’s seen as a reward for teams that advance this far. They get to this stage and the global platform it provides.”