Expansion Vote in late March 2026 - Play to begin in 28-29 season

Capt. Factorial said:
OK, but hear me out (same topic, different direction)

On the Athletic, Zach Harper recently proposed that they name the team the Las Vegas Sinatras, which I think really stinks as a name but is going in an interesting direction.

So taking that angle: The Vegas Rat Pack

Yes? No?
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Las Vegas Mafia has a nice ring to it...
 
Capt. Factorial said:
OK, but hear me out (same topic, different direction)

On the Athletic, Zach Harper recently proposed that they name the team the Las Vegas Sinatras, which I think really stinks as a name but is going in an interesting direction.

So taking that angle: The Vegas Rat Pack

Yes? No?
Click to expand...

chat gpt last year posted rhe name as the La vegas jackrabbits, so, we'll see how much AI knows, .
 
Warhawk said:
Las Vegas Mafia has a nice ring to it...
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The most iconic potential names associated with Vegas are likely things the NBA wants nothing to do with:

Vegas Mafia
Vegas Gamblers
Vegas What Happens in Vegas Stays in Vegas(ers)
Vegas Centerfolds
Vegas Fat Elvis....

I predict either a really bland desert animal (the Vegas Rattlers) or nonsense name like the Miami Heat (the Vegas Bets)
 
Too bad the Las Vegas Aces are already taken. That's a great one. (and a great team)

If I had to guess a legit answer, I'd go with the LV Bandits.

If it were my money, It'd be The Las Vegas Burnin' Love. It works on at least two levels. Or the Las Vegas Newton.
 
An Uber driver in Vegas once told me that you arrive on vacation and leave on probation. I thought that was pretty clever. ;)
 
KainLear said:
In a league with teams called Utah Jazz and Sacramento Kings, any name is fine as no name is relevant, just a placeholder until some rich people move their play toys to the next city.
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I don't know how serious a lot of the above mentioned team name suggestions were. As a resident, do you have any suggestions that make sense to you? Vegas already has the Aces, Raiders, and Golden Knights. Also the UNLV Rebels. Often (but not always) teams will try to tie-in to some kind of common theme with their branding.

I have friends who live in Vegas and have visited quite a bit recently and seen a much different side to the city that I prefer to the ultimate tourist trap that is The Strip. But that city also is in the process of stealing my favorite baseball team for primarily political/business reasons (also blatant cronyism and an illegal and anachronistically exempt monopoly) so I'm not going to say anything good about it unless I absolutely have to.
 
hrdboild said:
I don't know how serious a lot of the above mentioned team name suggestions were. As a resident, do you have any suggestions that make sense to you? Vegas already has the Aces, Raiders, and Golden Knights. Also the UNLV Rebels. Often (but not always) teams will try to tie-in to some kind of common theme with their branding.

I have friends who live in Vegas and have visited quite a bit recently and seen a much different side to the city that I prefer to the ultimate tourist trap that is The Strip. But that city also is in the process of stealing my favorite baseball team for primarily political/business reasons (also blatant cronyism and an illegal and anachronistically exempt monopoly) so I'm not going to say anything good about it unless I absolutely have to.
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We’ve got Red Rock, the bighorn mountain elk, and that Battle Born spirit. We’re grounded in the Mojave Desert, with incredible places like the Valley of Fire and the Hoover Dam all around us… they just don’t quite catch as many eyes as the image of dices hitting the table.

But my original point, however tongue-in-cheek, still stands. Vegas is an incredibly transient city, and right now it's focused on short-term spectacle than building a lasting community. The spotlight is on visitors coming in for major events, Raiders games, F1, and similar draws, most of whom aren’t locals. Because of that, it’s hard to believe all these new professional sport teams and world-level short-term-loan type of attractions are guaranteed to stick around when the wind shifts.

(PS: Don't hate the players, hate the game. Most locals hated that we are bringing the A's here too.)
 
KainLear said:
We’ve got Red Rock, the bighorn mountain elk, and that Battle Born spirit. We’re grounded in the Mojave Desert, with incredible places like the Valley of Fire and the Hoover Dam all around us… they just don’t quite catch as many eyes as the image of dices hitting the table.

But my original point, however tongue-in-cheek, still stands. Vegas is an incredibly transient city, and right now it's focused on short-term spectacle than building a lasting community. The spotlight is on visitors coming in for major events, Raiders games, F1, and similar draws, most of whom aren’t locals. Because of that, it’s hard to believe all these new professional sport teams and world-level short-term-loan type of attractions are guaranteed to stick around when the wind shifts.

(PS: Don't hate the players, hate the game. Most locals hated that we are bringing the A's here too.)
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I guess it was primarily Nevada's governor who made it happen. He tied approval for his stadium funding bill with threats to veto any legislation passed to secure funding for Nevada schools and essentially forced the outcome he wanted. It was also plainly apparent that John Fisher never had any intention of building a new stadium in Oakland under any circumstances. He's done nothing but drag his feet, pull out of deals, and set up roadblocks since he bought the team in 2005. Unfortunately, Oakland did not have a sympathetic league commissioner like Sacramento did to force a local sale.

I might care less if MLB had let Oakland at least keep the team name and colors after 56 years of history like the NBA did for the Seattle Sonics. Because of this I can't even wear my Oakland A's hat anymore without inadvertently supporting a con-man with a massive inheritance.

Some slightly more serious team name ideas...

HISTORICAL: Las Vegas Silversmiths (also matching the color theme of the Raiders, Aces, and complimenting the Golden Knights)
This one would be perfect but in the NBA, the Spurs already have these colors.
BORING: Las Vegas Pioneers (a lot of NBA teams have vague and boring names. this one hints at geography and is mostly inoffensive)
Are we slightly too woke for this to pass in 2026 given some of the connotations of European settlers displacing Native Americans?
BASKETBALL RELATED?: Las Vegas Glide / Las Vegas Boulders
Hang-gliders in the desert sortof makes sense. Is "Glide" too Portland specific to be a generic basketball reference? (referring to Clyde the Glide) "The Rock" is a common nickname for a basketball and Hoover Dam at one point was named Boulder Dam.
STATE ANIMAL: Las Vegas Bighorns
Bighorns might be a good name but are male professional athletes going to want to wear a big sheep logo on their chest? Maybe not. Which is unfortunate because I have seen them in the wild, while canoeing down the Colorado river, and they are majestic animals.
OTHER ANIMAL: Las Vegas Sidewinders
This might be my favorite idea. Because I really like the color Brown and wish it was used more in professional sports. Arizona already took the name Diamondbacks, but Sidewinders are arguably cooler anyway. And also found in the Mojave.
 
Having spent 6 years of my youth in Reno, I feel forever linked to the Silver State, for better or worse. Not that that gives me any insight into Vegas.

Nevada Statewide Options:
-Las Vegas Big Horns
-Las Vegas Battle Borns
-Las Vegas Battlehawks
-Las Vegas Silver-anythings

*More Reno and surrounding high desert wasteland crowd pleasers. Slap Battle or Silver on anything and they’ll rally around it. But that’s not Vegas. And the Battlehawks are already a UFL team.

Popular and Obvious Gambling
-Las Vegas Jokers
-Las Vegas Jacks
-Las Vegas High Rollers
-Las Vegas Spades
-Las Vegas Outlaws

*All fine enough, but wholly uninspiring, High Rollers is plain dumb and has some rather sleazy connotations. Jacks are not a positive nickname for a basketball team. Spades are just shovels. Outlaws has several issues but its biggest crime is being bland and passé. And unless Jokic is coming over, Jokers just make everyone think of the guy who constantly loses to Batman.

Popular and Obvious Desert Animals
-Las Vegas Scorpions
-Las Vegas Vipers
-Las Vegas Venom
-Las Vegas Coyotes
-Las Vegas Sidewinders

*Ho hum. Really standard uncontroversial NBA2K default expansion franchise options. You’ve managed to make Vegas boring. That’s impressive … OK, Venom is always cool.

Completely Non-Viable but Fun and Cheeky
-Las Vegas White Tigers
-Las Vegas Paradise
-Las Vegas Stratosphere
-Las Vegas Excaliburs
-Las Vegas Mirage
-Las Vegas Sands

*No way the modern NBA “rolls the dice” on a totally weird and quirky Vegas-related mascot in the era of corporate synergy and brand minimalism.

Pop Culture Inspired
-Las Vegas Invaders (Area 51)
-Las Vegas Isotopes (Simpsons)
-Las Vegas Elevens (Ocean’s Eleven)
-Las Vegas Legion (Fallout)
-Las Vegas Caesars (Fallout, aka Kaisers)
-Las Vegas Deathclaws (Fallout)

*The first two are also AAA baseball teams, so I don’t think those are the thyoes of names taken in the big leagues. Regardless, gone are the days of Toronto being allowed to name their team the Raptors because Jurassic Park was popular.

*My personal favorite though is both generic and ridiculous, maybe a bit too 90s, but that’s my jam, and it’s immediately recognizable to the city.

-Las Vegas Neon

*Dealer’s choice on making it plural or not, but either way, I look forward to adding an accent over the O when the team inevitably moves south to Mexico City in a decade.

-El Neón del Ciudad de México.
 
Löwenherz said:
...

Popular and Obvious Desert Animals
-Las Vegas Scorpions
-Las Vegas Vipers
-Las Vegas Venom
-Las Vegas Coyotes
-Las Vegas Sidewinders

*Ho hum. Really standard uncontroversial NBA2K default expansion franchise options. You’ve managed to make Vegas boring. That’s impressive … OK, Venom is always cool.

...

Pop Culture Inspired
-Las Vegas Invaders (Area 51)
-Las Vegas Isotopes (Simpsons)
-Las Vegas Elevens (Ocean’s Eleven)
-Las Vegas Legion (Fallout)
-Las Vegas Caesars (Fallout, aka Kaisers)
-Las Vegas Deathclaws (Fallout)

*The first two are also AAA baseball teams, so I don’t think those are the types of names taken in the big leagues. Regardless, gone are the days of Toronto being allowed to name their team the Raptors because Jurassic Park was popular.
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Okay yeah, but hear me out... The Sidewinders team colors could be Dark Brown and Light Brown. Maybe throw in a splash of Baby Blue as an accent if we want to go full 1970s. This would automatically give them the coolest color branding in all of professional sports and turn back the clock to the mid 90s when M&Ms foolishly stopping shipping with two different browns in the package.

I always thought that the 51's was a cool name and theme when their AAA baseball team was called that, but I dismissed this option off-hand thinking the NBA probably doesn't want to associate itself with conspiracy theories. Other than the ones they're already associated with, anyway.

Löwenherz said:
*My personal favorite though is both generic and ridiculous, maybe a bit too 90s, but that’s my jam, and it’s immediately recognizable to the city.

-Las Vegas Neon

*Dealer’s choice on making it plural or not, but either way, I look forward to adding an accent over the O when the team inevitably moves south to Mexico City in a decade.

-El Neón del Ciudad de México.
Click to expand...

I dig it. It initially reads more Roller Derby then NBA to me, but if they take that theme and give it a cyberpunk slant they can steal some of that "Miami Vice" branding that the Heat use to shift tons of product every year. They could give out glow in the dark shirts too and dim the lights in the arena LA Lakers style.
 
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