From NBA Ownership to Sports Betting: How Magic Johnson’s Las Vegas Team Could Ignite a New Era of Sports Betting

Los Angeles Lakers legend Magic Johnson is being courted by several investment groups aiming to bring an NBA team to Las Vegas. Los Angeles Lakers legend Magic Johnson is being courted by several investment groups aiming to bring an NBA team to Las Vegas, a move that would significantly expand the citys professional sports landscape and create massive new opportunities for sports betting enthusiasts looking to wager on high-stakes basketball action.

In 2012, Johnson led a group of investors that purchased the Los Angeles Dodgers, in which he still owns a stake, for $2 billion. Johnson also holds minority stakes in the Los Angeles Sparks of the WNBA, the Washington Commanders and the Los Angeles Football Club, and he held a stake in the Lakers until 2010.

The Financial Backing

Johnson’s bank account also can’t hurt. The 65-year-old has an estimated worth of $1.6B, and $4-$6 is required to start an NBA expansion team.

The London-based newspaper did not identify which investment groups have approached Johnson.

The Most Likely Home for a Las Vegas NBA Team

The most likely home for a Las Vegas NBA team will be built by the Oak View Group (OVG), the Denver-based private equity firm that is reportedly eyeing the parking lot of the Rio for this very purpose.

The perfectly sized T-Mobile Arena is not an option, since the season of its resident (and top-drawing) NHL team, the Golden Knights, overlaps with the NBA’s.

A New Arena in Las Vegas

Last November, a Vegas-based developer called LVXP trumpeted plans to build its own 18,000-seat NBA-ready stadium on the site of the old Wet n’ Wild waterpark. Demolished in 2004, the site was held hostage from 2013 through 2023 by a landowner who promised to build an NBA arena for which he never secured funding.

However, LVXP has no history of building arenas and its list of principles includes a former managing director of a mining group, a professional dancer/choreographer, and the a construction executive who managed to let the Vegas Sphere go more than a billion dollars over budget.

The Competition

Though Vegas seems a better fit due to its proximity to Johnson’s primary residence in Los Angeles, the Daily Mail also reported that Las Vegas isn’t the only city on the table — that Johnson could also start an NBA team in Kansas City, which has gone hoopless since the Kansas City Kings split for Sacramento in 1985.

Also, Johnson may face competition from a current LA Laker. Following a preseason Las Vegas game in October 2022, LeBron James, the NBA’s first active billionaire player, said: “I would love to bring a team here at some point. That would be amazing. It’s the best fan base in the world.”

The Loyalty to the Lakers

And finally, Johnson has maintained in the past that his loyalty to the Lakers prevents him from owning another NBA team.

“The only team I would actually probably think about is the New York Knicks,” he said in September 2023. “I think it would be intriguing.”

Conclusion

In conclusion, while Magic Johnson may have the financial backing and the experience to make an NBA team a success, there are several factors that could prevent him from making it happen.

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