The NBA is closing in on the decision that will hand Las Vegas its first basketball team, and Dana White is still floating around the process.
Asked on Tuesday whether he remains involved with a prospective ownership group chasing the expansion franchise, the UFC president gave a one-word answer at the Contender Series post-fight press conference.
“Yes.”
That was his full public update, according to Sherdog. He is not listed among the three public finalist groups now under NBA review, and he did not name a group or specify a role.
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Three finalists in the $12bn range
ESPN’s Shams Charania reported on Tuesday that the league is reviewing bids from Nancy Walton Laurie and Bill Laurie, from Steve Apostolopoulos and Marc Lasry, and from Bill Foley and Jerry Colangelo. The combined price for franchise rights and a new arena is put at $12bn to $13bn, with formal Board of Governors approval targeted by the end of December.
The earliest tip-off is pencilled in for the 2028-29 season. Seattle is the other city on the league’s expansion track, but per the ESPN report, Las Vegas is running ahead.
White’s line has hardened since August
White’s first public brush with the process came in August, when he told the Las Vegas Review-Journal that a prospective ownership group had reached out to him and that joining was not out of the question. Tuesday’s update was firmer, and much shorter.
It still stops well short of a name or a stake. None of the three named finalists has publicly attached White to their bid.
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White has long paired the UFC job with an active interest in basketball. He is a Boston Celtics fan and close friends with head coach Joe Mazzulla, according to Sherdog.
The NBA’s own selection of a winning Las Vegas bid is expected in the coming weeks, before the December approval window.
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