Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr speaks with media on Tuesday, Oct. 13, 2026 at T-Mo ...
Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr speaks with media on Tuesday, Oct. 13, 2026 at T-Mobile Arena. (Mick Akers/Las Vegas Review-Journal)
Golden State Warriors coach Steve Kerr said he couldn’t have imagined an NBA expansion team being awarded to Las Vegas more than 20 years ago, especially after a previous effort by a future NBA owner to bring a team to the city was rejected.
In 2004, Kerr introduced former Phoenix Suns owner Robert Sarver to then-NBA Commissioner David Stern in an attempt to pitch a Las Vegas franchise.
“I met Robert, and I didn’t know him before that, but he asked me if I could introduce him to Stern,” Kerr recalled Tuesday before the Warriors faced the Los Angeles Lakers in a preseason game at T-Mobile Arena. “We went into David Stern’s office, and David Stern said there’s no way we’re having a franchise in Las Vegas because of the gambling and stuff.”
After the league rejected his Las Vegas proposal, Sarver purchased the Suns from majority owner Jerry Colangelo in 2004.
Fast forward to 2026, and the NBA appears all but certain to award Las Vegas an expansion franchise. Colangelo is part of one of three finalist groups seeking a team and is partnered with Golden Knights owner Bill Foley.
“Everything’s changed a lot since then,” Kerr said. “The world, the NBA, style of play, societal norms, all that stuff. So now it’s different, and here we are. A lot of successful sports franchises are thriving here.”
Lakers coach J.J. Redick said he views Las Vegas as a perfect expansion destination for the NBA.
Redick has spent considerable time in the city as a media member before joining the Lakers and through his annual visits for NBA Summer League. He has little doubt Las Vegas can support a franchise.
“I know the support for the Lakers here is always very high, very positive,” Redick said. “But this city’s shown that it can have a great home crowd. I think immediately of the Aces and the Golden Knights and some of the playoff runs they’ve had since they’ve been here. It’s a great support city. So I would expect that if Vegas does get a team, this place will be rocking.”
Kerr agreed, saying Las Vegas would not only be a successful NBA market but that expansion to Las Vegas and Seattle would help balance the league’s geography through realignment.
“Summer League’s been great here. It feels like this is already part of the NBA,” Kerr said. “Obviously, this has been a successful city for the NFL and for the NHL. And it looks like soon Major League Baseball. So I like the addition of a West Coast team to help balance out the geography. Seattle does the same if they end up doing that. So I like it.
“Obviously, it’s not up to us. It’s up to the owners what they decide to do, but it seems to make a lot of sense.”